A Room with a View
by Kerstae
Summary: Season 2 AU - Two Guys, a Veronica... and a Neptune Grand Hotel Penthouse. What could possibly go wrong when Logan and Duncan move in together? Some Veronica/Logan & Mac/Dick
1. Chapter 1

(Brinck - I don't wanna love her)

Logan Echolls finished putting the last of his items into the drawers of his new bedroom in the Neptune Grand Hotel. Shifting position as his ankle pinched where he was he kneeling on the floor and mentally cursed his luck to be stuck with the Sheriff Departments tracking monitor, courtesy of their diligent Sheriff Lamb's _helpful_ suggestions. Eli "Weevil" Navarro and the other PCHers had taken great pleasuring in torching his former residence.

 _Flight Risk my ass!_

Every trace of his old world was now ashes… any semblance that his life was ever movie perfect, lay in the same dust as the Echolls Estate. His world a crazy place people acting, reacting, escalating behaviors. The World thought he was a murderer.

He closed his eyes and willed away the image of a dead Felix Toombs lying on the cold asphalt, the tinny scent of the blood like pennies on the back of his tongue. He would still wake up from the nightmares of seeing those glassy eyes reaching out at him over the darkness.

His existence a war, and no one realized.

 _She certainly hadn't understood…_

He felt his heart involuntarily twist as it usually did when Veronica Mars crossed his mind. The familiar ache settling into his gut, there was no hangover could cure how messed up he felt at the memory of that singular girl.

 _How could the existence of one person cause him such considerable anguish?_

She was the calm in the center of his storm, a beacon. The only thing that showed him what was best in himself, and how badly he had screwed up.

His Home, not that it had regularly been much of one, had burned to the ground. Lady Karma had eventually caught up to him for all his hatching plans and running around with his toadies.

 _She never even thought to call to make sure I was okay…_

She'd been downright furious in fact when she'd come over that night and found out he'd moved in.

 _Probably considered it foul play…_

Logan had had to share a cell with his father. The monster who'd murdered his girlfriend Lilly Kane and Logan never wanted to put his arms around Veronica more than when he'd eventually got released from that cell. His gaze shifted to the argyle shirt sitting over the chair that Duncan had let him borrow when he'd first suggested that he move in.

His body still ached from when she'd curled up on the couch against him, it still smelled of her. He inhaled sharply and tried to suppress the tears.

Dammit, he needed her… the lack of her was in every piece of his life… and he _hated_ her for it.

 _How could she be so cold?_

"I'm pretty sure that there's a part of you is having fun with all of this?"

Whoever could have conceived these torturous few months that he was having fun? She'd almost perished in that bus crash a few weeks ago and she couldn't even be civil to him when he went to Java the Hut during her shifts; Veronica's manager requested he move sections. He'd tried to call her, but she'd switched her number and the few occasions he'd adopted a disposable cell paid for in cash to phone the Mars Investigations Office he'd only gotten hold of her dad, so he still dialed an old case mailbox just to hear her voice.

He'd been struggling to entertain himself by having an affair with Kendall Casablanca's… but she wasn't Veronica.

No… Veronica was dating Duncan Kane… his new roommate, and the thought twisted like a knife in his gut stealing his breath. It had since the moment that Dick had told him that they'd gotten back together. He'd give anything to finally put her in the rear-view mirror… but the problem with seeking to put her behind him… was he was constantly glancing back.

 _She'd always wanted Duncan… and he wasn't even an afterthought…_

Why had he been so stupid as to believe that they could make it work?

Duncan didn't know Veronica anymore… they'd make each other miserable eventually… Duncan would grow more and more withdrawn, never having the guts to end it because he was such a 'great guy' and Veronica would break herself trying to become what he preferred.

Every kiss Logan had experienced with Veronica had told him that they fit together.

 _She belonged with him._

Now instead of being with the girl he adored, he was in limbo with his rumpled bedsheets reeking of a revolving door of faceless one-night stands, but his regular afternoons with Kendall couldn't stop the petite sleuth from breaching his thoughts… now she would be in his home, she would be in the bedroom just feet from his, in bed with his best friend.

His Devoted Ex-girlfriend and his Best Friend… Now Logan could see why Cain had slain Abel… jealousy was a powerful demon.

 _It exhausted him. She'd been staying over last night… he'd heard them together._

"God, Veronica… make up your mind! Just pick ONE of them…."

The times he'd had to waste watching them flirt and hold hands at school had been irritating enough… now he was the fly on the wall to the parts his mind didn't even dare to. 3D, surround sound and full technicolor.

Duncan's proposal of moving in had made rational sense, the PCHers were not likely to burn down a hotel with him inside; they had security in the building who could help protect him and it was the ultimate Fuck You to his A-Lister father, by staying with the brother of the girl he'd slain. It had the benefit of telling the world precisely what he thought of Dear Old Dad.

He was thankful to have his friend having his back again… but he couldn't shake how much he hated him for being with Veronica.

"Hey baby… you want to come over tonight? We could… have some Dim Sum and Den Some…" Duncan flirted on the phone, and Logan felt his stomach roll.

 _Best to be scarce and hit the town._

 _Veronica was visiting… he was hitting the streets of Neptune to Raise a little hell._

Logan could pinpoint almost the exact moment he knew he was in love with Veronica… the Total Eclipse of the Heart Dance last year. She'd been wearing an 80s outfit, and he'd interrupted her date with his public drunkenness when she'd tried to take his keys to make sure he didn't drive home. He'd seen her kissing Deputy Leo just before his sister Trina had driven him home and something in him had wanted to break the guy in half.

Jealousy had always been a problem of his, he was a hothead… it was one of his lapses. SHe could make him feel like he was spinning out of control.

 _She was his kryptonite._

He couldn't take it anymore, pulling out his phone he dialed the best distraction he knew.

"Hey, Dick… know any good parties tonight?" Logan asked.

 _Please God say yes…_

"Oh Hey Man, sorry… Beeves and I are heading down to Tijuana for the weekend with Luke and Sean… Surf's up!" Dick said. "We'd have invited you… but you know…"

"Ankle Bling… I get it" Logan sighed sitting on the edge of his bed. rubbing the flesh underneath the wretched device.


	2. Chapter 2

(Hinder - Lips of an Angel)

"Lost?" Logan growled furiously as Veronica walked out onto the balcony of the Neptune Grand Hotel that morning. She'd spent the night with Duncan again, now garbed in one of the oversized white Neptune Grand dressing gowns. Her blond hair was ruffled, and she was nursing a cup of coffee like it was precious cargo. The post-sex glow in her cheeks.

 _Surely she should be anywhere but here…_

Swallowing hard against the lump in his throat, he downed half the bitter liquid in his cup, scalding to choke down words he might otherwise regret. They were keeping up this little farce of politeness for Duncan's sake. He'd spent the last 4 months wanting to see her like this… But whenever his feverish imagination had conjured it up… it had been his bed he'd imagined she'd spent the night in.

Not Duncan's.

 _Bitch…_

"Nope…" she quipped, her blue eyes avoiding his glare as she picked up a round of toast from the breakfast tray that Duncan had ordered from room service before he'd gone for his shower. He had expected the pain of finding out the two of them had been sleeping together to have lessened over time, if anything, the longer it went on, the more it hurt.

Narrowing his eyes as the petite blond she settled down in her chair with the toast and buttered it, intent on ignoring him as he stood drinking his own coffee, so much for enjoying the morning sunshine, the Apartment was too warm the last few days, a heat wave had swept over most of Neptune and the breeze from the balcony was the only thing keeping him cool.

This wasn't fair.

The rest of Planet Earth revolved around the Sun… while his entire Universe orbited around Veronica Mars.

Aaron Echolls had murdered his son's sweetheart. He had almost murdered Veronica… and it had forever wedged a void between Logan and the two individuals who he cared for more than anything in the world. Duncan was like his brother… and Veronica… was the young woman that had solved Lilly Kane's murder case and revealed the truth about his dad, even at the risk of her own life.

Lilly's death had been the crucible that had changed them all. Binding them together in this fucked up situation that had more in common with a Greek tragedy.

Veronica, was the only person left breathing who he loved… was in the arms of another man.

His Best Friends arms.

It didn't even seem to matter to them. Both were determined to continue this torment regardless of how wrong their relationship was. They were in love with the notion of each other and it would only make them more miserable as time went on.

Why couldn't she leave?

Veronica's father, Keith Mars, Private Investigator was away in Arizona for a few days on his book tour and he was trapped watching as she took advantage of the parental absence to spend some premarital relations with her boyfriend.

Kill me now… Logan thought as he watched Duncan emerge from his bedroom with a happy grin on his face. Watching the happiness on his friends face brought back that Marge Sherwood line from The Talented Mr Ripley and how it described Veronica perfectly.

"The thing with Veronica... it's like the sun shines on you, and it's glorious. And then she forgets you and it's very, very cold… When you have her attention, you feel like you're the only person in the world, that's why everybody loves her so much"

It was excruciating to be so close to that light… but be left out in the dark.

But she only had eyes for Duncan… and he was powerless now to do anything but watch.

He cared about them both, which made this so much harder.

"Morning Handsome" she smiled as Duncan kissed her on the cheek and took the seat next to hers, and Logan had to grip the railing behind him to stop from launching himself over the table to wrench them apart. A muscle working furiously in his jaw as he took a sustaining breath, forcing his posture to relax, giving his roommate a tight smile, mentally cursing whatever deity had decided that Veronica Mars should be his own personal Hell on Earth.

 _No he still wasn't over her… and any fool could see that._

Maybe now would be a good time to look up one of those advice Columns… how to deal when your best friend dates your ex?

All that being said, Logan didn't have to be cool with it. He should not have to be obligated to hide his feelings, because they didn't.

She didn't when she'd woken him with the sounds of her climaxing in the room just feet from his bed in the early hours of this morning. Wasn't it bad enough that the cushions on the couch still smelled of her perfume after she left?

Duncan thought it was fine he was hooking up the girl who remorselessly tossed his best friend's heart into a meat grinder. He'd dated Veronica first… so technically, Logan had been the one dating His Ex… and had suggested this living situation probably genuinely believing this might not be an issue. Though on the scale of ambivalent to legitimately livid… Logan was Livid.

In the initial weeks of the start of school, he'd investigated the prospect of trailing each of their names through the mud and tarnishing their reputations or trying some diabolical meddling to ensure their relationship's speedy demise… but he hadn't been able to do it.

It had been four weeks since the day he'd told Veronica that he was in love with her that she'd gotten back together with Duncan.

Sometimes the best policy was feigning forgiveness but never forgetting.

Rather than giving her a chance to feel smug, he was determined not to give her a reaction, so he gave her his best I-don't-need-you poker face. he wanted to scream at her but giving in would only make him look like a hard-on harboring jackass still in love with her. No doubt that outburst would be a pathetic mix of expletives, death threats, unbecoming wining, and angry accusations about "forgetting the beauty of what we had."

So he resisted the urge, no way would he give her the satisfaction of knowing he struggled unable to keep his wounded pride in check.

He'd already made that mistake and allowed his jealousy to get the better of him a few weeks ago when he'd fought with Duncan at school. It had only sent Veronica rushing into Duncan's arms, not that he really thought it would have made any difference.. but she hadn't even cared enough to rage on him for it.

In the back of his mind, he knew he'd always be circling her like a starved hyena, waiting for Duncan to walk away so he could have an opportunity to beg for another chance. That 'I Wuv You Beary Much' teddy bear was still in his glove box.

 _God he was pathetic…_

He couldn't claim ownership over her like she's a cashmere sweater… but he was irrevocably hers.

 _She just didn't want him._

"You want a ride to school man?" Duncan offered as he picked up a piece of bacon, his arm draped over the back of Veronica's chair, and Logan scolded himself for the possessive anger that wanted to shove his breakfast down his throat. His body still ached for her; he still craved to be the one to kiss those lips, to be the one to light up that flirtatious sparkle in her eye. Her thumb stilled as she wiped ketchup from Duncan's chin gave a quick horrified in his direction expression, as if the thought of being enclosed in yet another confined space with him was a fate worse than death.

"I'm skipping today" Logan declared as he left his half-empty coffee cup on the breakfast trolley. The taste was too bitter now in his mouth for him to enjoy, he'd grab something from Starbucks after his surf.

Even more nauseating quality time with Neptune High's golden couple? No thanks, I'll pass…

He needed to clear his head.

"Again?" Duncan asked, frowning in exasperation, probably not relishing having to be his emissary.

"Tasty waves man…" Logan joked nonchalantly and walked back into his bedroom.

What did accused murderers need with book learning?

He glanced back at Veronica's face as she frowned in disapproval. His academic disregard bothered her it seemed.

 _Interesting…_


	3. Chapter 3

(Jacob Lee – Demons)

Logan stood on the balcony of the Neptune Grand Penthouse apartment but honestly, this place felt more like a tower he was locked in, waiting like a damsel for someone to come to his rescue. and there was only one princess charming he wanted. Sipping his scotch on the rocks hating himself for looking out at the familiar streets and high rises in Veronica's neighborhood. She wasn't home because she was out having dinner with Duncan, again.

She'd barely even acknowledged his presence this morning, and she had shown no discretion when she'd slept with his best friend last night.

She was more of an opponent, those hurled barbs and well-timed criticisms of all his choices that did not miss their mark, as searing and lingering as the weight of the ankle monitor on his leg.

 _Didn't she know what this was doing to him?_

He felt his phone vibrate and he looked at the automated message alert:

FAO L Echolls – The Balbo Country Sheriffs Department as per terms and conditions of your bail, requests your presence at the Sheriff's station for review and servicing of your monitor.

 _Great… more face time with the delightful Sheriff Lamb._

He would have to come up with a plan of action, a credo if he would survive this much longer. He wanted his best friend to be happy; he did… especially after the revelations about what his father had done… and he had dated Veronica first… so shouldn't Logan be doing the honorable thing and backing off?

But he wasn't honourable… he was a selfish bastard and a jackass.

He'd went all in when he first kissed Veronica, she made him better than he was before, and he was still hers. She'd put a new heartbeat inside of him…but now it was broken, it still skipped a beat over the sound of her name.

He'd had it so good that summer… but that was then… how could he have been so stupid?

He'd been such a fucking chump.

Keeping her warm until the Cavalry arrived. And why the hell did he even care?

 _Dear Teen People… I'm in love with my roommates girlfriend… what can I do?_

This whole summer he was just a placeholder… a Duncan substitute.

Now he knew that he'd been an idiot… scrubbing a hand down his face, he cursed himself for not taking her to bed when he'd had the chance instead of clinging to some romantic idea it would have been something life-changing for him… a milestone… surrender to something bigger than himself... but in hindsight, he knew it wouldn't have been the same for her. It wouldn't have had any significance for her at all. It was a line they had almost crossed when they'd been curled up on his couch watching Easy Rider… she'd been right there… but he'd felt so guilty after what had happened to her at Shelley's that he hadn't wanted to rush things… he'd wanted to savor it.. take his time. Because being with her like that would have meant something to him… it would have been Real.

Maybe if he'd slept with her then this fascination would disappear.

"Hey Duncan… can I screw your girlfriend so this masochistic obsession could be over?" Logan grumbled drunkenly, walking back inside towards the minibar.

She'd always had this power over him… the ability to goad him into losing all perspective, all trace of common sense, the magnetic pull that made him want to tease her, taunt her… have her focus all her attention on him.

Logan couldn't quite describe the physical ache of how much he missed her… it was like a rupture, a gaping crack in his very core that only disappeared when he held her petite body against his. But how could she be that elusive absent piece if she didn't even know she was missing?

Veronica and Duncan had been flirting all summer… Logan seen it when he went by to visit Java The Hut during her shifts and they would be talking with each other. Duncan was always in her section, asking for refills and he didn't even like coffee… Logan knew that from almost 4 years of driving him to school that he always got Chai tea when they went to Starbucks Yet there he was… asking her for another top-up of black coffee.

"Lost?"

"Nope…"

Except she was…

 _Veronica…_

Her name was like acid pouring its way into his chest.

 _"Are you breaking up with me?"_

He had wholeheartedly believed that if he had given her a few weeks to cool off, to give her some space… that she would forgive him for being an idiot and they would get back together… she'd said that she needed time to be alone when things got out of control, so he had left her alone.

Missing her had been like an itch that wouldn't go away.

 _"I can't stay with you…"_

"Don't say that" Logan said to the memory through gritted teeth into the empty apartment.

She was like an addictive drug, the more he'd sampled, the more he had craved.

Why did some fuse go off deep inside him whenever he saw her, blowing his cool sky high and making him say, and do things to provoke her?

It was obvious of course… she was the one who had gotten away… the challenge of the chase… with a damning curse, he took a swig directly from the bottle sitting beside him on the table. Blowing out a steady breath he grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

Why the hell should he want her so damn much? He thought angrily as he picked up one of her notebooks from the coffee table she had left behind, his fingers tracing over the familiar feminine scrawl.

 **Next week on the Tinseltown Diaries… Movie Star… Adulterer… Murderer…. Who is the real Aaron Echolls?**

Logan quickly reached for the remote and turned it off again, he'd always hated having a famous father… the media, the press… the tabloids. The last 6 months had been the most unbearable yet.

He'd gone on plenty of dates since the break-up with warm willing girls, he'd even had sex with a few of them… but he always found himself pretending it was Veronica he was kissing… Veronica, he was feeling…

What the hell did she see in Duncan that was so lacking in him? More than ever Logan really wanted to know. Dammit, he loved Duncan like a brother… but Logan couldn't bring himself to want Veronica to find happiness in anyone's arms but his.

Life was too empty without her.

He hit the play button on the radio and Kyla La Grange—Vampire Smile filled the speakers in the apartment and he tapped his foot to the beat while he took another swig from the bottle, his eyes roaming over towards Duncan's bedroom where the doors sat open, mocking him.

There it was… the scene of the crime.

His drink was now empty and he tossed the bottle aside. Nothing seemed to satisfy; nothing seemed to lighten the heaviness weighing down on him.

There's no reason his bed should stay empty if they weren't going to show any kind of consideration, why should he?

He flicked through his contacts list in his phone and looked back at Duncan's bedroom again.

"Hello?" a sultry feminine voice answered.

"Hi Pumpkin… miss me?" Logan smiled as Kendall Casablanca's picked up.

(Suggested Prequel Story to enhance your enjoyment is Mars, Bars and Clambakes)


	4. Chapter 4

(Song for this Scene 11:11 – You… I do recommend you listen to this while you read this J )

His fingers strayed, tracing the smooth skin beneath his touch; her t-shirt had ridden up, showing that tempting exposed flesh of her slender mid-riff as his tongue danced with hers. Logan groaned deep in his throat, satisfaction curling through him as he felt her warmth pressed along his length straining against his pants. Even fully clothed she could still get him this high, this aching with need.

 _Veronica… His…_

He wrapped his arms around her petite shoulders as she clung to him, pulling him closer, her perfect talented hands as hungry in their explorations as his own.

 _Clothes… too many clothes between them…_

Her hands worked furiously at the buttons of his shirt as she pushed him into his bedroom, clothing hitting the floor as his toffee-coloured eyes drank in the sight of her. He buried his hands in her blond hair, the scent of her intoxicated him, her mouth on his, those perfect lips starving, hungrily duelling with his own.

 _She tasted so sweet…_

"I love you.." he whispered against her mouth as she pushed him towards the bed, sliding her t-shirt over her head to discard it onto the floor.

"Shhh… no talking…" she sighed as she walked backwards, her fingers in his belt loops, pulling him with her as she climbed onto his bed, her blue eyes continuing to impale his. Her mouth slanted in a cat-that-got-the-canary grin, the scent of her skin, marshmallows and promises wrapped itself around him like a noose, he simply ignited, the need to possess her was fighting him for control. "I want you so much…." she confessed the desperation in her tone was going to be his undoing.

 _He'd missed her so much… he'd waited so long… She'd be his… finally…_

Nothing else mattered more than the petite woman laying beneath him right now, gripping her small hips, his hands running along her thighs, sliding up beneath her short skirt, cupping her ass, his fingers teasing at the tip of her underwear as she undulated against his body. His lips kissed along her throat as she shivered, her laboured breathy moans encouraging him.

He wanted to lose himself in this delirium. Her hands strayed for the feel of his shape, tracing him through his pants and he was so aroused that he thought he'd lose control right then. His gaze drifted lower, to the jut of her breasts, small, a neat handful, her nipples straining against the lacy pale blue fabric. She was a symphony of soft curves and velvety skin, her hips writhed against him and he finally broke down, slipping a hand into her lacy underwear, gliding a finger over her clitoris and her body responded like bone-dry tinder to a naked flame.

No other woman had ever made him feel so aware of his body, of her submission to his, so acutely aware of her primal reaction to him. Her mouth opened in a delicious reflex and she tried to speak but the words were caught in her throat as she twitched around his fingers, she was so wet, so ready… so wanting…

Sliding the strap of her down her slender shoulder, scorching kisses branded her throat as he kissed down her body to capture her breast in his mouth as he freed them from the confines of her bra while his fingers continued their expert teasing, driving her closer to the edge of ecstasy. He let out a rough-sounding growl as he tasted her skin and she shuddered uncontrollably, tightening around his fingers, he could almost imagine how much better it would feel if he was sheathed deep inside her. Her response to him was as automatic as breathing, passionate, primal, and primitive.

He had known that the second he kissed her again would unprick every stitch of her carefully constructed resolve to keep him out of her life, that the same heart-stopping taste of her would light his insides on fire.

 _There was still something between them… she wasn't trying to suppress it anymore… she was here in his arms…_

Her fingers weaved through his hair as he suckled at her breast, his tongue flicking across that hardened bud hearing her gasp; he felt her hips unconsciously grind against his palm while he played with her.

"Logan…" her voice was not much more than a thread of sound, the wanton gleam in her eyes made them look almost more silver than blue in the faded light of the moon coming in through his window. For a fraction of a second, their eyes danced, his strong hands guiding her towards that inevitable edge, it rippled through her in a vicious rush of pleasure as he watched, shredding away the last of any defensive shields she had as she gave in.

He couldn't wait anymore, he wanted to embed himself inside her welcoming body, wanted to feel her heat wrapped around him. He wanted everything she was, everything he was when he was with her. Veronica swallowed hard as the look in cinnamon-brown eyes was enough to tie anyone in knots, it was a look that said he was going to completely consume every part of her.

His eyes met her piercingly silver-blue gaze as he reached for the lacy underwear and stripped it down her smooth legs. The tell-tale colour staining her cheeks as his cleanly sculpted mouth, square jaw set in determined mode. He found himself unaccountably fascinated by that stain of red that worked its way down her cheeks to her elegant neck. His eyed her appraisingly; nothing was going to break him out of the spell she had woven.

Some deep hypnotising magnetism that had stuttered his thoughts over the last few months into an indecipherable mess whenever she was around.

 _He wanted her so badly…_

They grinned in perfect understanding as she reached for her button on her skirt and he helped her to remove it as well. He wanted flesh-to-flesh contact; he wanted her skin against his broad chest. His gaze meandered over the naked petite blond in front of him as he stood back and pulled his jeans off.

 _She was breath-taking…_

His desire was evident for her to see, rough, rugged and needy. He returned to the bed, pulling her against him capturing her mouth in an endless impossible, unspeakably erotic kiss that left her feeling dizzy. His knee nudged her thighs apart as he positioned himself between her legs, his throbbing erection probing intimately at the entrance to her sex. Bone-stretching tension moved between them as he cupped her face, her hair was tousled, fire glowing in her eyes and the sheer want he saw there seared through him. Pleading with him to help cool the tempest raging inside her with his hands and his skill as her hands cupped his face in return, kissing him, as she guided him closer to her body; her hips gyrated in a silent invitation

 _She wanted him too…_

He buried his head in the sweet hollow of her neck and shoulders as he gripped onto her hip and pushed himself inside her, eliciting a moan from her as they joined together; he shuddered as he felt her clench welcomingly around him. He filled her, stretched her, possessed her. She gasped, he was larger than she had thought. His arms tightened around her as he began an achingly slow rhythm, thrusting in and out, her nails digging into his back.

"Oh god…" she panted as he increased the pace, her hips moving in time to his, he could feel her heart thump erratically against his chest and he lifted his head to stare into her drown-in-me blue eyes. There was none of that ice in them now… just the same inferno that had consumed him since the first time he'd kissed her outside the Camelott Motel. She couldn't look at him with that disdainful cold expression now… his heart somersaulted as he saw the unguarded love for him there. Her usual armour was gone, they weren't adversaries here, they were lovers.

 _She was indelibly his…_ _I love you, I love you, I love you…_

It was like a chant inside his head, reverberating throughout his body as he continued to pound into her. He played with her clit in time to his movements and kept up the pace until she was panting and her mewling cries were swallowed by his kisses, the universe exploding behind her eye lids, he could feel the pulse of her orgasm ripple around his shaft, he didn't stop, he wanted to watch her do that again. It was beautiful, it was selfish, it was heavenly. He hadn't known she would overwhelm him like this… she owned him between the sheets… completely owned him.

"I love you Veronica…" his voice was gritty enough to make her shiver, those incredible blue eyes looked at him and he fell right into them as the stars imploded behind his eyes and he came, losing himself to the cataclysmic eruption of bliss with her aftershocks still pulsating. The release splintered his senses, leaving him freefalling, giving everything he was to the spirited, feisty, little temptress beneath him. Wordlessly she cupped his face and gave him a seductive, deep kiss as he surrendered to the blinding release.

He came out the other side, their breathing slowing into a perfect harmony, spent, satisfied, seduced. She looked thoroughly bedded; her lips swollen from his kisses, Little Miss Wound-Too-Tight had been thoroughly shaken up by their love-making. He'd always prided himself on keeping his emotions under a layer of ice so that no one could rattle him, but she'd always had the unique ability to get inside him, he couldn't hide from her. She had burrowed underneath him, coiled around him until she had become something essential…

He never wanted to leave here, her snuggled against him as they collapsed into a tangle of limbs and bedsheets, wrapped up in their intimate cocoon. After all these months of feeling rootless and unbound, he was finally home.

"Logan!" a yell from the other room followed by a bang on the door ripped him from his sleep and he looked around disorientated.

"Yeah?" he replied sleepily.

"Time to get up man, we are going to be late for school" Duncan called as moved around in the living room.

That's when reality crept in and he looked at the other side of his empty bed. She wasn't here.

 _It had been a dream…_

"Getting room service.. you want something?" Duncan asked. Logan sat up and looked around his hotel room, running his fingers over the back of his neck as he opened his bedroom door to answer him.

 _It had felt so real…_

"Bacon and eggs for me" Veronica's voice replied from the other bedroom door.

 _Now he remembered… how could he have forgotten?_

"Dude.. you want something?" Duncan repeated as Logan's warm chocolate eyes flickered in the direction of the bedroom opposite.

"Yeah…" Logan replied weakly as he took the room service menu offered as he watched Veronica wander into the living room to pick up her phone. His lips twisted, she'd spent the night… again…

 _Hell yes he wanted something…_

Ice tiptoed down every vertebra as she looked at him. Beneath her veneer was something that got to him. The tension between them wasn't easing during these little encounters; he wasn't some roly-poly puppy she had just kicked. He was a grown man, and he could see the attraction, the longing in her eyes even though she would never admit it rumbling through her like an expensive engine. It was like she got some kind of vicious pleasure in denying herself to him. Her rejection split his core. He tried to have no attachments beyond those of utility… but when he saw the molten flame between them in her eyes as well before she hide it, he had to fight with himself not to beg her to stop this madness.

Duncan looked at him expectantly before Logan just handed him back the menu.

"I'll have what you're having" Logan said, casting a brief look at the sexy dishevelled sleuth sizing up her opponent. His response made her fidget with knowledge she had already expected. It was a provocation, a challenge.

 _You know what I want… what I will always want…_

Duncan took the menu back and glared at him.

"I'm not sure there's enough to go around… and I don't share" he warned before he turned and walked towards the phone. If looks could kill, she would have eviscerated him. His presence was like a smouldering black fire in her mind, and Veronica turned on her heel, her graceful hips swaying as she went back into the bedroom to finish getting dressed.


	5. Chapter 5

Logan lay back on his board as the freezing salt water poured over him, trying to imagine that each new wave was a layer of snow pushing thoughts of his dream last night into some frozen artic abyss.

 _I can't do this anymore…_

He was far enough beyond the breaking line of the waves that he just bobbed about a little, the furious sun scorching down on him as he swayed about with his feet dangling over the edge. It was stupid to be just laying out here like this, two days ago there had been a shark attack in San Diego and the warning flags had been put out along the beach.

He didn't care much now though. That rush… putting himself in the firing line… testing his limits… it was the only thing that got his heart pumping anymore. Reminded him that reminded him he was still alive. The bruises, the adrenalin spiking his blood when he'd almost gone too far.

His mother had thrown herself into the ocean.. he could almost understand why. There was something tempting about getting lost in those fathomless depths. It would be so easy... just take a bottle of scotch out some morning and then slip off his board.

 _No… he wasn't allowed to think like that._

Not until his dad was sentenced, not until he went down for what he had done to Lilly.

 _Lilly…_

Logan felt that same familiar mix of loss, heartbreak and betrayal that came up now when he thought about her.

 _Had he really been so terrible a boyfriend she'd had to screw his dad?_

If she'd talked to him… if she'd stopped her flirtations with other guys long enough for him to really let her in… she'd have known what kind of a man his father was… how much danger she had been putting herself in.

He felt that old emptiness swallow him. Of course he had been a terrible boyfriend… he was an awful friend…

Duncan had finally clawed himself out of that depression that he'd fell into after Lilly's murder… the murder that Logan's own father had committed… and reclaimed the girl he loved. He was moving on with his life… and all Logan could do was pine after his girlfriend? Sleep with Dick and Beaver's stepmom after the affair revelations and subsequent Ponzi scheme discover had made their father flee the country?

He was a wrecking ball.. he destroyed everything he touched. She had been right to leave him… Even without his dad around, he was still screwing things up. He could still hear his father's voice as clearly as if he was beating the words into him… that he was good nothing. That he ruined everything. He could feel them as sure as he could feel the belt on the flesh of his back enunciating every syllable.

He knew he wasn't Duncan… he'd never be like Duncan… cherished, loved… the decent honourable guy that had drawn Veronica into his orbit without even having to try.

 _But Logan would die for her… didn't that count for anything?_

He stayed there until he could feel the burn in his skin and the inevitable numbness in his limbs, it was going to ache by the time he got back to the sand of the Neptune Beach. He could already see the staff in the lifeguard tower watching him and pointing. The light was fading… he should get back to shore.

Shivering and sore, he lifted his board and headed up the beach under the Neptune Plazza Pier, casting a quick glance up to the familiar coffee shop. Java the Hut beside the arcade. She was working today. He knew she was because Duncan had slipped off to the Hospital again to visit Meg while she was preoccupied.

It was the latest cruel plot twist in this sordid little story of his life. Logan was heartbroken over Veronica… who only had eyes for Duncan. Who even though he had everything Logan ever wanted… loving parents who adored him, were proud of him, who'd broken the law to protect him even when they'd thought he'd killed his own sister… the unconditional love and devotion of Veronica Mars…

All Duncan wanted was to torment himself over comatose Meg Manning.

Sliding his board into the back of his car, Logan looked longingly at the warm window of the coffee shop as Veronica stood restocking the dessert stand and chatting to her boss. If he went in and sat in her section… would she still get her colleagues to ask him to move? Or would she talk to him… smile at him… shine that light on him for even a little while?

No… her jaw would set, her lips would purse in that guarded way she had lately when she spoke to him. She would glare at him and her shoulders would set in that defiant tension, she'd take that breath like she was preparing for battle, and then she'd turn on her heel and ignore his existence.

His dream last night had shaken him to the core, he hadn't dreamt about her like that in a very long time. Before they had dated, after Lilly's murder, when he had thought he hated Veronica… he'd still been dreaming about her. Like some part of his soul had known he always needed Veronica… so it had conjured up a fantasy version just for him.

 _He would give anything to trade places with Duncan…_

Against his better judgement he found himself climbing the staircase from the beach up towards the Neptune Plazza Pier, his hand on the door to Java the Hut, the heat wrapping itself around him as he went inside. His brown eyes locked their gaze with Veronica's as he walked in past the espresso machine and he saw her friendly smile vanish before she turned and said something to her colleague, the brunette woman glanced in Logan's direction.

 _Subtle…_ Logan thought bitterly.

Before Veronica turned and walked away from the café floor altogether out the back to the staff room.

"What can I get for you?" Marinda asked cheerfully.

"Hot Chocolate please" he replied weakly as he curled back further into his hoodie.

"Would you like Marshmallows and Cream?" she asked.

"Cream… but no Marshmallows.." he stammered and she smiled before diligently going about making his drink.

 _She had tasted of Marshmallows in his dream…_

"Actually… could I get that to go?" he added as he saw her reach for a cup.

"Of course" she answered, putting it back and lifting a disposable one instead. "$4.50 please"

"Here you go" Logan said, handing over his credit card, trying to ignore the pain in his chest at the obvious snub.

 _Was it honestly so hard for her to even treat him like a human being?_

 _Even just as another asshole customer?_


	6. Chapter 6

"What's all this?" Logan asked as he walked into the Neptune Grand Penthouse and saw the empty boxes sitting beside the couch. He'd just come back from his latest sign in at the Sheriff's Office.

"This… is your birthday present man" Duncan smiled as he threw Logan a Game Cube controller.

"It's not my birthday for another month?" Logan replied as he looked at the obscene stack of games.

"No… this one is eleven months late" Duncan smiled. "I was uh…. In Havana on your last birthday"

"Dude… you got like every game I already had…" Logan laughed as he walked passed the mountain that Duncan was stacking into the holder.

"Exactly… every game you had… before the fire" Duncan grinned. "It's Gumbo and Game Night in the Mars household… so it's just you and me" he said pointedly and Logan could feel himself swallow against the lump in his throat.

 _Was he really **that** transparent?_

"I thought we could just get some pizza… hang out" he offered, a knowing look in his eye, almost like an apology.

Logan felt something in his stomach tighten; of course Duncan could see right through him. He was his best friend after all.

"Pepperoni?" he suggested.

"Salami" Duncan countered in their usual negotiation.

"Anything but pineapple!" Logan laughed as he slumped down onto the chair beside his friend as he had done a thousand times before. He didn't ask how the visit with Meg had been today, or if Veronica was planning on coming over tonight.

 _Why did things have to be so hard?_

The two boys spent most of the evening eating pizza and played video games while drinking beers and trash talking.

"You are such a sore loser!" Logan joked as Duncan insisted that they play another round of Meteoroid Prime.

"Yeah but I win where it counts" Duncan retorted absent-mindedly and the two shared an awkward side wards glance. He hated this... the Grand Canyon sized wedge between him and his friend.

 _There had never been anything that the two of them couldn't discuss. Until now._

Now there were all these unspoken gauntlets, landmines and secret conversational trapdoors. It was like trying to get through one of the levels in these games…

He could still the fury in Duncan's eyes sometimes when he looked at him. The way he had to reign himself in from saying something, the way he tensed up when the trailers for that Tinseltown Diaries show came on the television.

 _"Your dad murdered my sister!"_

 _"I hate him too you know…"_

The words always hung in the air, and that was before they even got to the hardest topic of all.

Veronica.

 _"You lost her, I didn't steal her!"_

When Logan had dated Lilly… there had never been any of these issues. They weren't competition, and Logan had been grateful for that. He'd needed to have this kind of closeness with someone, a brother, a best friend. Someone who knew him inside and out. That person had always been Duncan. Now he couldn't tell him what he was feeling. He had to bottle it up, lock it in a box and bury it someplace cold and dark.

 _He hadn't meant to fall in love with her… his feelings for her had taken him by surprise. Like a landslide._

He'd just gotten swept away. He knew that Duncan knew how much he cared for her. He knew how conflicted he was… the two just never mentioned it. Logan swallowed the situation like poison and prayed to see morning.

It killed him that he'd been the one to coach the formerly virginal Duncan in how to please a woman. He'd taught him all his best moves when he had been dating Meg. Moves and tips he was now using on Veronica. Even just the thought of it set Logan's teeth on edge.

 _"You are the master of your own Misery son… all the trouble that befalls you… is the direct consequence of your own actions… if you didn't want this to hurt as much… you should have made smarter choices"_ his father had used to taunt him when he'd send Logan to choose his own belt for the beatings.

Duncan Kane wasn't just his friend, he was his best friend. They were here for each other no matter what, through thick and thin. He'd been someone that Logan had thought he could trust completely, through tears and laughter, through the hard times. Through everything and anything... but he hadn't been there this summer, maybe if he had been, things wouldn't have gone the way they did with the Neptune Community Swimming Pool… Duncan would have talked him out of it. Reined him in before he took it too far. He could still see it in his eyes… Duncan didn't trust him anymore. He was trying to be here for him, but there was always going to be this barrier between them.

"You're still short" Logan retorted.

"You are one insult away from starting a war" Duncan warned.

"Sure thing.. Napoleon" Logan jested and threw his hands up defensively as Duncan leapt from his seat with a slice of pizza and rubbed it into his hair. "Hey no fair! I was unarmed!" he protested, reaching for the ketchup.

"Oh come on! That's practically a semi-automatic rifle!" Duncan complained as he backed away from the cream couch.

"You started it!" Logan laughed. "Now say Hello to my Little Friend..." he said in a terrible mock accent. "By the way… I was talking to the Ketchup" he added.

"That's it!" Duncan said as he tackled his roommate to the floor and the two of them started wrestling, knocking a drink over in the process.

"You got Ketchup all over my shirt…." Duncan sighed as they stood up eventually.

"I regret nothing…" Logan said, trying to pull some of the cheese out of his hair. "Ahh at least there's no carpet" he laughed as he surveyed the mess.

"That's what she said" Duncan joked and the pair shared another awkward silence again.

 _It was an intimate detail about Veronica they both wished the other didn't know…_

"This is not a War anymore man… this is Retribution" Logan said as he picked up the garlic dip and dumped it onto Duncan's head.

"You are insane!" Duncan laughed as he threw his hands up in surrender.

"I know, isn't it great?" Logan retorted.

"You are really drunk right now" Duncan told him.

"No I'm not… you're just blurry" Logan laughed.

"Oh hey… before I forget… there's one more present" Duncan said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a small envelope.

"What's this?" Logan said, taking it and opening it.

Starbucks Gift Card. $500.

It was a message… a very passive aggressive Duncan way of warning him to stay away from Java the Hut… to stay away from Her…

"Got it?" Duncan asked.

"Yeah…" Logan replied. So much for a night just catching up with a friend.


	7. Chapter 7

"If you think any harder I reckon your head is going to turn inside out" Wallace warned as Veronica stared at the mulch on the end of her fork. No doubt she was cooking up some revenge plot or trying to unravel some deep-seated conspiracy, or she could have some other innocuous notion rummaging around behind those artic blue eyes, he never really could tell with her.

"Sorry, I didn't sleep well" Veronica smiled apologetically and pushed her tray away from her.

"Everything okay?" he enquired, and the question seemed to break her boyfriend Duncan out of his own silent inner monologue to cast a concerned glance in her direction, and she shifted guiltily. They'd been like that a lot lately Wallace observed.

"Nope… just that Glee Club case I'm working on. Too many blue screens before bed time" she smiled. It was a lie of course… Veronica knew that as her best friend Wallace could read that about her by now, he knew when she pushed all her private, passionate and secret emotions into a closet and kicked the door closed.

She hadn't been sleeping because she'd heard a rumour that Weevil and the other PCHers were planning something big against Logan but it's not like she could really bring that up with Duncan sitting so close.

 _Relax Veronica… it's not like you are suddenly going to jump on him after 4 months of self-restraint._

He'd come into Java the Hut yesterday after his surf, all salty and his hair still kind of dishevelled.

Strong, and sexy and gorgeous. Irresistible.

Involuntarily her eyes glanced over in his direction as he sat at the table in the corner with Dick Casablanca's eating a slice of pizza.

Dangerous.

So what if she had been fighting the urge to climb him like a cat on a curtain lately? Seeing Logan made her want to run for cover, they'd let the Genie out of the bottle when they had dated last summer… and she had been struggling ever since to put it back in since their break up with little success. Leaving him had felt akin to kicking the Earth out of the sun's orbit.

"You have any luck finding out whose been dosing the competition and sabotaging the instruments?" Duncan asked quietly, his gaze still intent on looking at the latest Navigator submissions and Veronica was grateful that he hadn't noticed her momentary slip of control while she was held motionless looking at Logan laughing at whatever ridiculous statement Dick had just made. It was a rarity these days, to see him smile, to hear that melodic timbre of his chuckle. She missed it. She missed _him._

It wasn't the first time that the treacherous thought had crossed her mind.

An embarrassed flush of colour crept into her cheeks when she realised that Duncan was still staring at her expecting her reply.

"Ummm no. Not yet, although I do have a plan to try and drum up some suspects during the auditions later today" Veronica said, glad that he couldn't tell her intentions with that brief glance she'd cast in his roommates direction.

Usually she would have just gone to her friend Meg Manning and asked for a list of potential culprits, but after the bus crash a month ago, that wasn't a possibility. Her friend was currently lying in a hospital ward, comatose. The weight of what she hadn't said in her reply hung over the table and the couple shifted uncomfortably. Duncan hadn't said anything about his ex-girlfriends condition, but Veronica knew that silences in what Duncan Kane never said, told you more about what he was thinking than any declaration. The fact that he had been choosing to pretend that Meg and the fact she was in hospital didn't exist, was classic avoidance tactic. She knew that it meant he was probably thinking more about Meg than he would ever admit to her, and the wall she felt between them, the things unsaid, stung.

She hated secrets, they ruined lives.

Wasn't it the secrets that had ultimately been the reason she had broken up with Logan?

Secrets had become so much a part of her life lately she didn't know where the truth was supposed to start. Wasn't she still having a secret relationship with Duncan that his parents knew nothing about? Now to make matters even more complicated, her boyfriend was sharing an apartment with her ex-boyfriend, and all of that had been before she took on investigating the bus crash.

"You plan on singing?" Duncan chuckled, putting down his red sharpie finally and actually looking at her, a glimmer of amusement in his blue eyes.

"One way… or another… I'm gonna gonna crack, I'll crack this case…" she sang in a husky tone and was rewarded by a laugh from both of her companions.

"Well… you know… if you need someone to make you look good… I could sing…" Duncan offered.

"No!" Wallace and Veronica declared in unison before they all erupted laughing. Their latest house party at the Neptune Grand Hotel had involved the use of the Play Station Sing-star games when a very tipsy Duncan Kane had been given a noise complaint by the management and the Sheriff's department almost responded to the reports of an animal being tortured in the penthouse suite and just like that she was focused again.

"Ouch… tough crowd!" he laughed as he wrapped an arm around Veronicas waist and kissed her cheek.

"You should appreciate this honesty… in a few years you will just be trawling Asian restaurants with Karaoke Bars and buying yourself audience love with your billions" Veronica teased.

"I love my Yes Men!" Duncan declared in mock salute.

"Well I think I'll be needing some billions myself if you two expect me to sit here and watch anymore of this while I try and eat my lunch…" Wallace joked.

"Awwww Wallace and his pudding cup!" Veronica pouted before she looked up and saw Maize McCoy standing beside the Lilly Kane Memorial Fountain trying to get her attention. "Show time!" she sighed.

Someone had been terrorizing the schools drama, band and glee clubs by sabotaging the set pieces for the school play, damaging the instruments of affluent 09er students and destroying the music sheets in the rehearsal studio. Until the bus crash, there had only been one real contender for the scholarship, but after the accident, it didn't look like Meg was going to be graduating any time soon, so someone was trying to scare off the competition for the Hollingsworth Siren Scholarship talent showcase set up in honour of a former drama student, daughter of Real Estate Tycoon, Bernard Hollingsworth, Anita Hollingsworth had died of an overdose at Hearst College two years ago. She had been Homecoming Queen and the star of every school production, the leading lady in the Echolls Kids Charity straight to DVD movie _The Greatest Showgirl_ produced right here by Neptune High School Students.

Veronica had rigged the stage and choir room up with bugs and hidden cameras. If someone tried to sabotage hers or anyone else's audition, she would catch them red handed. Even if it meant she had to grace another microphone to do it, she was going to solve this case.

"Nice of you to join us Ms Mars" Mr Johnson said as he held out the clipboard for her to sign in and she watched as a nervous Maize McCoy, the girl who had come to her and pleaded for her help, stood nervously in the back row of the auditorium. She had been practising with Maize most of the week… and surprisingly had discovered that singing provided a kind of cathartic release for the tension that had been bubbling up inside her. If she hadn't gotten into photography and private investigatory work and discovered earlier that she could actually sing rather well, she might have been actually competing for the Scholarship herself.

Veronica did her best to swallow her nerves; she was no stranger to being ridiculed by her peers here in Neptune High. Most of her entire last year had been spent as the focal point for every piece of salacious gossip and nasty rumour going. It had stopped of course, after she had solved Lilly's murder, and she had gotten back together with Duncan… but she never forgot that feeling of being under a microscope. It was hard to forget being mocked and ridiculed like that… kids could be vicious, high school kids had been no exception. She tried to dispel the thought as she looked up into the back row and saw the usual jocks and 09ers filtering in for their Happy Hour.

She didn't have to be able to see over the blinding stage lights to know that Dick, Luke and Casey were sitting out there. She could hear them. She could practically feel Logan's eyes on her like a physical touch as the lines furrowed between her eyebrows.

 _What was he doing in here? Why now? If she'd known… she would have picked any other song…_

She could feel him undressing her with his eyes, stirring something deep inside her, driving her into a swelter under the heavy stage lights.

"Whenever you are ready Ms Mars" Mr Johnson said as he nodded at the student standing by the music player. She smiled awkwardly and gave Trevor, the stagehand a little nod.

Music started to filter through the room and she took a deep breath as she counted herself in. She couldn't look out at the small crowd forming in the seating area in front of her so she closed her eyes and sang in her best, higher than usual, strained singing voice, just well enough to make a passable cover of Foxes – Devil Side.

Failing at her resolve to keep them shut as the emotions began to pour out in her words, opening them again. Veronica felt her cheeks growing warm as she felt Logan's gaze dancing with hers in a slow tango as she hit the high notes. Liquid fire pumping through her veins as her voice filled the auditorium. Time faded away and it was almost like the rest of the world fell away and it was just the two of them and that song, her pulse racing in her ears. His espresso-brown eyes smouldering at her from the audience, she could see him swallowing hard as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair, her words almost mesmerising as the two of them got lost in the moment, each as enthralled by the other until a large bang erupted from one of the speakers to her left and smoke started to fill the room.

She yelped a little in shock at the surprise.

Several of the 09er girls in the front shrieked as the smoke alarms went off and they began to get sprayed with water. Mr Johnson and Mrs Holtz started to direct the students out the emergency exits and one of the sound engineers came across the stage to inspect the piece of equipment as the main lights came back on and Veronica could finally see him sitting there, staring at her, an indecipherable expression on his face.

"Do you think we found them?" Maize asked, whoever had done this had ruined her clarinet, and recent misfortunes in her father's investments in Casablanca's Realty had left her previously wealthy upper middle class family relying on that scholarship.

"Don't worry… whoever did this will be somewhere on one of these tapes" Veronica promised her. The schools insurance wouldn't cover the cost of the damage to the students property or the instruments unless it could be proven that it was deliberate sabotage.

She retrieved the camera's from back stage after most of the rehearsal space had been cleared and assured Maize that she would report the culprit to Mr Clemmons for the appropriate punishment, her blond hair was already drying in slight curls as she walked outside into the corridor where she saw Logan standing there glaring at her. She had trouble marshalling her thoughts as she looked at him, he was so brutally handsome, his chiselled cheekbone and devil-doesn't-give-a-damn nonchalance he made her chest hurt. If he wasn't around, life could get back to normal without that jumpy, sickening feeling inside her. The defiant gleam in her eyes glared right back at him, her stony expression betraying nothing even though her body still ached, still craved every pulse-racing touch.

No…

She wasn't going to give into him… no matter how much she'd betrayed her feelings with that song. He was a trouble-maker, a risk taker, a gambler and a liar. He was on fast track for disaster and his daredevil escapades were going to get him killed.

Would those gold-brown eyes still blaze at her with hatred if he knew how much of her impersonal, icy, business-like veneer was actually masking a broken heart? Their brief dalliance this summer was still so real in her memory, so vivid. She wouldn't be so good in her chosen profession if she was just a wilting flower, she was known for her indefatigable dedication to her discipline. Her glacial blue eyes hardened and she adjusted the strap on her backpack, exhaling the trapped air in her lungs, trying not to drown in the torrential storm raging over her senses, so what if his flawless bone-structure fractured her ability to think clearly?

Logan was sinfully gorgeous.. this wasn't news.

Their gazes duelled for a few moments and she turned on her heels and stormed off wordlessly in the opposite direction.

Logan watched wearily as she pulled on the Veronica Poker Face and he wanted to chase after her and kiss that look of disapproval off those luscious lips, her body knew him… even if her mind was determined to make them adversaries. He was simply an enemy in those silver-blue eyes, she loathed him, 100%, no-holds-barred, completely and utterly loathed him. Her perfectly sculpted mouth had been set in stubborn mode and the looks she gave him were scathing… so why had that song pulled him inside that chilling drown in me blue like some deep hypnotising magnetism stuttering all his thoughts to a halt? Making him want to reach out and touch her and ask her what that tell-tale colouring staining her cheeks had meant?

No, there were fated to be combatants, to tease, taunt and infuriate each other, to jeer and to bang their heads against the wall in mutual exasperation… an eternal magnetic pull towards one another behind the antagonism, that meeting of minds.

His gaze had meandered over the petite blond in front of him, a stinging rebuke poised on her tongue no doubt, but in the end she ignored him, turned on her heel and walked away like he wasn't worth her time. It really irked him, fine…. If she wanted to throw down that particular gauntlet… let's see her ignore it when Kendall came over for some playtime with him… and he planned to be loud enough to interrupt her little Date Night with Duncan.


	8. Chapter 8

Logan Echolls was everything that was wrong with her life here in Neptune High… he was simply everywhere. He played havoc with her subconscious; he teased her, he heckled her, he did everything he could to get under her skin, interfered with relationships that would have been so much better for her peace of mind. Veronica just couldn't escape him. His dark uncanny power had finally invaded her most guarded part- her reasoning.

 _She was like a drug addict._

She hadn't eaten much, hadn't slept much. Nothing seemed to lighten the heaviness pressing down on her. The PCHers were planning something… something that involved Logan. She could feel it in her marrow.

She wandered around the corridor with her headphones in listening to Tate Mcrae – Hung up on you. Awareness prickling down the back of her neck as the PCHers sized her up with their eyes. Hard to imagine it was just before last summer that she was friendly enough with them to be invited to that barbeque in Weevils grandmother's old house… she couldn't quite believe that one of her fellow students had driven up beside Logan's obnoxiously yellow look-at-me monstrosity and fired a shotgun blast at them both.

 _We could have been killed…_

Of course, they were under the mistaken impression that Logan was the murderer, in their eyes it was justice… but for Veronica that was the second of the three times in 8 months that she had felt the cold tendrils of death stalking her. She couldn't help but wonder just how close the next imminent threat of danger was.

They say the good die young; that was especially true in Neptune.

Duncan wasn't here this morning and his car wasn't in the parking lot. It wasn't like him, he hadn't even answered her calls.

 _Maybe he was angry with her because of last night?_

 _Last night…._

When Logan had interrupted their date night by bringing over Kendall Casablanca's for a go-around… Veronica thought bitterly.

 _That wasn't fair… and she knew it._

God, could she _be_ any more hypocritical right now? Of course he'd reverted back to form. She knew who he was… it was herself she'd been disgusted with. Since when did she behave like her mother?

Hadn't her father taught her that love meant stick with someone even when things got hard… that it meant shouldering the burden when it got heavy, even when the fun stopped and the hard times hit?

 _She'd abandoned him… and she couldn't forgive herself._

It was becoming increasingly impossible to silence what her heart already knew, she loved him. She loved him so fiercely it terrified her. He'd come home from surfing with Dick Casablanca's and sat on the couch right beside her, so close she could feel the heat from his arm along her skin. She'd bitten her lip so hard she'd nearly broken the skin.

Was she being stupid? A fool? On paper, Duncan Kane was the perfect partner, his credentials and qualifications were impeccable, he was good looking, he was loving and attentive… She never once doubted his feelings for her, or his sincerity, and she had never once had to wonder if he wanted her. He had, right from the start. Yet, instead of revelling in his attentions… she felt smothered by it.

 _But she always had been a fool for a guy with an edge, a bastard with a good heart._

Duncan deserved someone better… someone like Meg.

Someone who could truly appreciate him.

She'd feigned a headache last night and left before the movie was over, listening to Logan in the next room fooling around with another woman…. It had been too much. He'd paraded Kendall in front her like a… she didn't exactly have the words but he'd known what he was doing. It was hard not to be jealous, even though she had no claim on Logan.

There was no way in hell that he couldn't have known that the words of that song yesterday had all been about him. She obviously felt guilty, there was no disguising it, last night he had just given her a sad smile, but he'd seemed kind of stoic.

Veronica changed the track on her ipod to Billie Eilish – Bitches Broken Hearts and headed in the opposite direction of the familiar Neptune High Obligatory Psychotic Jackass standing by his locker sipping on a Starbucks.

"Diversionary tactics, the purpose of which is to keep you off balance Mars… don't give in" she muttered to herself, doing her best to ignore his gaze as he looked at her intently. She hesitated, her eyes going back and forth between his, although the unspoken messages were strong, she couldn't read them clearly. She couldn't be sure, she just hoped she could curb her natural instincts and leave the question well enough alone unasked.

 _You are a big girl Mars… you can get through one day without a buffer between you and Logan…_

She was grateful she hadn't spent the night with Duncan, she could just have imagined Logan's smug face this morning, he'd have teased her, chided her, and generally have been provocative. She wasn't over claustrophobic but the hallways of Neptune High were suddenly too small, without Wallace or Duncan… with him looking at her like that…. This place felt like his turf… and she was just his prisoner.

 _Breathe Veronica… just get to AP English class…_

Ruminating over how she felt she made her way to class, resolute in her decision to not obsess a second longer on the thoughts of Logan and Kendall having sex… Kendall… the Hot _Woman…_ she was all male fantasy, dark silky hair, tall, lithe, long legs and curves that Veronica would kill for.

 _Why oh why did Wallace have to choose today of all days to have the flu?_


	9. Chapter 9

Logan couldn't stop staring at Veronica this morning; it was like he was seeing her finally for the first time. She wasn't just furious with him… she was _jealous_!

It was so obvious now, how could he not have noticed this before? She wasn't indifferent to him… she was avoiding him, not because she didn't care… but because she did! She just didn't want to admit it. She may have looked at him like she wanted to throttle him before the start of class, but he couldn't keep the smug satisfaction off his annoyingly handsome face. He'd gotten under that ice-cold veneer and she was seething, for once he had the upper hand with her. Logan was used to having control over his interactions with women; he'd had that power over the opposite sex ever since the first besotted female had leaned over his crib and said ahhh.

 _Dare he say it… today was the first day in months he'd felt something that he thought he'd lost… hope…_

Today he was going to thorough put her hard-won control to the test. He would see just how strongly that resolve to keep him at a distance would go beneath that I'm-in-control exterior.

"Will you stop gawping at me?" she hissed as she stood in front of him in the cafeteria line as she pulled her headphones out of her ears. Duncan wasn't at school today, it was the first time in months the two of them had actually had a real opportunity to be alone.

He'd chosen to follow her into the canteen instead of going out for his usual Starbucks this morning just to see if he could continue to rile her up, to see just how much of his theory would hold up, that the ice princess Veronica Mars… was really molten underneath. Every little micro-expression and glare was going to be a veritable treasure trove of information. He knew she found his rampant bad boy persona ridiculous… but she wanted him.

"Who said I was gawping? I'm just trying to pick what flavour of syrup I want next… I had chocolate last night… maybe I'm in the mood for some vanilla… or caramel?" he said, sweet sarcasm in his voice. Beneath that charming exterior was one of the toughest women he'd ever met, her blue eyes were unreadable.

"You decide to forget you're an 09er just to irritate me?" she said through gritted teeth, her knuckles whitening on as she gripped the strap of her bag tighter. He was sure his presence alone was sufficient enough to irritate her. The way he was looking at her, he knew should tell he was imagining doing unspeakable things to her.

"It's almost like you forgot I'm also a student a Neptune High…" Logan sighed in a mocking tone.

"What Neptunes own infamous playboy Logan Echolls? I'm amazed you managed to tear yourself away from Ms Casablanca's _twin endowments_ long enough to make it school… but then does she know she's just your latest flavour? Blondes in hot tubs, Brunettes in hotels, Red heads just lingering around waiting for your attention… Really though why don't you go bother one of your bimbo's Echolls and leave me alone?" she muttered angrily.

True to his character, Veronica glared up at Logan as he moved in front of her in the line, completely unfazed. "Easy, tiger… someone might think you want to share a hot tub with me" he smiled sardonically.

"Only if it includes the option to boil you alive… now do you mind? I am under caffeinated" she declared, pushing past him to the coffee machine. She could see it, the moment of blatant calculation where he weighed up his options on whether or not to heckle her or not.

"Mines cream, two sugars" he smiled, a big enchanting, underwear dissolving smile, handing her another cup. "Thanks"

 _Was it just her, or had his voice just dropped an octave?_

Frowning she narrowed her eyes, snatching it from him and put it into the slot beside her own cup. She staunchly resisted the urge to succumb to the lure of his charisma.

 _Smug Bastard…_ she uttered under her breath, glad he couldn't hear her. Allure, magnetism, charm… he had it by the bucketful and she hated him for it. No… she just had to remind herself that this was Logan Echolls, he was arrogant, rude, and spoiled… and instead of getting to enjoy her morning coffee in peace, she was catering to the Neptune High School's own obligatory psychotic jackass.

Logan had no doubt that after she had stormed out of the Neptune Grand she had spent the night tossing and turning, thinking of clever and pithy things to say to him.

He might be a hard-drinking, womanizing party animal but didn't she understand that he was only doing all of that to distract him because what he really wanted was her? Her lips were his perfect escape hatch from his disaster life… he wanted to taste them… if only she wouldn't continue to treat him as if he were beneath contempt.

He was Ridiculous. Pathetic. Sad. Swamped by a hot rush of pure unadulterated lust as his gaze ran up her jean-clad petite legs, admiring her firm ass. She was a munchkin, her head barely came to his shoulder He wanted to pick her up and set her on the counter, to have her wrap those cute hot legs around his waist and have her cling to him while he delved into her mouth with his kisses.

"There, done" she declared. "Seen enough?"

Completing making the drinks she turned and thrust his cup against his broad muscled chest, stunning him as he tore his fascinated gaze back to her face, his eyes almost burned a bright amber colour as she felt an unsteady weakness climb into her knees as heat poured through her body under the weight of his stare.

"Well... this is kind of a novelty for me…. You never make me coffee anymore…" he said pointedly, a glint in his brown eyes that hadn't been there before.

Between her thighs, a traitorous need was building. She swallowed audibly and moved backwards away from him, almost falling over as his fingers wrapped around the cup, brushing hers before she tore her hand away again. The brief contact sent a shiver through her whole body and he shrugged in boyishly rueful way. Abruptly she realized that she was staring stupidly at him and muttered something about the coffee being on him before she stalked off again. A delicious little swing of her hips, he noted, that made her butt wiggle.

He felt his pulse racing; he was experiencing a weird expression of some kind of grief and loss. How could she still deny this thing between them? Her body had gone from zero to come-and-get-me in no seconds flat.

 _Nope… I am not giving into him…_ she thought resolutely snapping out of her lust-induced fog as Veronica stormed off towards her AP Government class. As for her initial reaction to his undeniable physical appeal? Well she was only human… and he was very good looking… sinfully good looking…

 _It wasn't going to happen again… no way, uh-uh, no how…_

This wasn't the sort of thing she did, her rational mind screamed at her. She was a calm, careful kind of person, a thinker, a planner… and Logan, was a playboy. He'd just spent last night in bed with Kendall Casablanca's… and the thought still loomed large on her mental horizon like acid in her memory.

 _Why was she still so drawn to Logan and his predatory charm?_

"He's a dirty hound dog, Mars… that's what he is" she said to herself through gritted teeth, sipping her beverage as she slid into her seat as her mind refused to relinquish its hold on the conundrum that was Logan Echolls.


	10. Chapter 10

_So this is what hell looks like..._ Veronica thought miserably as she sat in her Future Business Leaders of America class without her usual buffer, her boyfriend Duncan Kane occupying the seat between her and Logan Echolls. He'd been dodging her mental police service like a seasoned pro all throughout her pre-lunch classes ever since their little encounter in the canteen when he'd been doing his best to get under her skin.

Her blue eyes surveyed the room, taking in the faces of the other students and doing her best to ignore the bone-jarring, teeth grind inducing, hot tamale sex fantasy fodder that was sitting beside her. He was so tall that she had to tilt her head back to look into his eyes as he trailed his gaze over her body again.

 _Ugh…. Why oh why couldn't he have chosen today to go surfing?_

 _"Surfing the big waves."_ Had been the excuse he had given Mr Clemmons for his constant absences over the last few months, and as an emancipated youth, with no parents available to report him to there was little the school board could do but _request_ he attend his classes. She felt fidgety, what was it about him that made her brain go all jittery like that? No way she could get through her lesson with him so close to her… she was doing her best not to run her fingers through his tousled dark hair… and then she would trail her fingers along his high cheekbones and angular jaw. She wanted to trace the grooves that bracketed his firm mouth and the lines that fanned from his sparkling brown eyes… to have him cup her face and capture her lips with his…

 _Oh God… I have to move…._

This was a woman who considered the pros and cons. She saw potential problems before she saw possibilities and she was doing her best not to look at him again, the thought was making Logan feel even more confident about his plan to ask for her help in finding out more about his mystery witness. He just wished that he didn't have to deal with coming to school as the only means to ask her.

 _I should have stayed home…_ he thought miserably as she picked up her bag and moved into the seat beside Beaver, putting an empty desk between them. Why did she have to be like this with him?

She avoided him everywhere else… School was the only neutral ground where she might actually listen to him. He hated sitting still. It gave you too much time to think about mistakes and regrets… Staring at Veronica was a distraction from dwelling on the troubles whirling around in his head, she was an intriguing puzzle. Her expressions fascinated him. He wanted somewhere quiet and private where he could explore Veronica inch by inch. Shed their clothes and...

She dipped her head and her long blond hair fell over her face like a veil. He needed a new tactic. It was time to rattle her cage. He stood up and took the empty desk next to her again. Her heart had thumped against her ribs when she met his piercing brown eyes.

He was so handsome that it almost hurt to look at him. Her blood was pumping through her veins harder than it had in a long time.

 _Stupid Logan… You have a boyfriend Veronica... or did you conveniently forget that part? No… you have a Duncan… Your first love… Lilly's brother... The guy you pined for most of last year until you figured out that it was really Logan you wanted…. please stop staring!_

She had never been as relieved as when the bell rang and she could escape to her Health Class away from Logan, of course, it just compounded the torment when Ms Patterson had the class practise putting condoms onto banana's and discussing other forms of contraceptives one may wish to use to prevent pregnancy. Shiv and Thumper kept making obscene gestures at her most of the lesson and cracking jokes about needing no glove to get their loving until they were eventually kicked out of the class. Of all the PCHers… they were the two most likely to end up in a holding cell by 19, she would put money on it. Several of the PCHers had started wearing the Latin Blood colours in the most recent months, a sign that they were prepared to go the extra mile… and probably carried a blade or a gun.

Gang symbols and colours like that had lessened since Weevil had taken over the biker gang, but that was before he'd lost focus after Felix had been murdered. The worst people had to fear from the biker gang was the occasional beating, criminal damage to their cars or being duck-taped naked to the flag pole… well it used to be. The recent arson of the Echolls family home and the several knives confiscated from PCHers and kids who owed them something being taken by the security at the new metal detectors were a stark warning sign that Weevil's reign as the undisputed leader could be coming to an end.

It was almost fifth period before she decided to call Duncan again to find out where he was when she noticed the very familiar out of order sign on the girl's bathroom door.

 _What the hell?_

Curiosity got the best of her. Several student's had commented on how this place was kind of like her office… more like her sanctuary, away from prying eyes and in the perfect spot a mere 5 minutes dash in any direction to all of her classes.

"Hello?" she called out as she walked into the bathroom.

 _No… No… No… Ambushed…_

Veronica felt her heart stop as she found Logan Echolls standing there, grinning like a cat-that-got-the-canary leaning against the sinks.

"Hey… you remember when we made out in here, and you had your legs around my waist?" he smiled.

 _Like she'd been able to think of anything else since that day?_

"Stop… you'll make me blush…" she said sarcastically before she took a step back towards the door to leave.

"I'm sure your insides are blushing like mad…" he teased as he walked closer, stepping right up in front of her.

 _How did he know that?_

"Goodbye Logan…" she muttered as she turned to go.

"Honestly? How much easier would your life be if you were indifferent to me?" He asked as he stepped closer to her, putting on hand on the door, preventing her from leaving.

"What do you want?" she sighed.

"Hmmm… what do I want…? I am in need of your very _special_ talents Veronica…" he confessed and took several steps away from him.

"Why are you doing this to me Logan?" she pleaded, turning away from him and rubbing the back of her neck.

 _Why? Why did she think? Who else could he go to? Were there any other teen Sexy Sleuths in Neptune High he didn't know about?_ He thought as his brows furrowed.

 _He needed her to help find out who this witness was who was trying to ruin his life…_

"Because I need you Veronica…" he said in disbelief, his cognac-brown eyes betraying the deep hurt he usually kept hidden. "It's been 5 months and its only getting worse…."

"I know how hard it's been…. You think it's been easier for me?" she asked furiously. _Don't you know how much being around you has been pure agony for me?_

"I know I haven't exactly reacted in the best of ways… especially after…" he continued as he walked closer to her.

"NOW you tell me you need me…? You are running around screwing Kendall and I am trying to get over you Logan… but you won't let me!" she cried, her blue eyes giving him a cool-eyed tearful glare. Her emotional tone had stunned him into silence as her words filtered into his thoughts.

"What are you talking about.. _trying_ to get over me?" he asked finally as he let out a rough sounding sigh, those blue eyes fastened on him.

Mortified she realised that he hadn't mentioned anything specific at all… he'd been trying ask her something and now he was looking at her in bewilderment.

"That's not what you brought me in here to talk about is it?" she asked quietly in horror, it wasn't in her psychological make-up to look for sympathy or pity, she was quite accustomed to fending for herself. The sudden constriction in her throat made it hard for her to speak; they stared at each other for several torturous minutes, only their breathing breaking the silence. The half-formed apology vanished from her lips and she decided to go with tough, one of her best characteristics.

"Veronica…" he in a whispered husky tone, staring broodingly into her artic blue eyes. She wanted to ruffle his hair, step closer and settle deep into that masculine fit and pull his mouth to hers but logic dictated that the smarter play was to run; she had learned the hard way that love was an over-rated commodity. "What do you mean you are trying to get over me…?" he questioned softly, his hand reaching for her face to make her look at him.

"Are you done with this? I'd like to go back to keeping our distance" she said in a strangled whisper. She was a master tactician but exposed like this, the slip of her hard crafted veneer was unsalvageable.

"Distance? Veronica… please just answer the question…" he pleaded as he cupped her face.

"I'm with Duncan…" she sobbed, a rebel tear escaping and falling down her cheek.

"What do you mean trying to get over me?" he repeated, his gaze lingering on her ripe full lips, his body stiffening in anticipation.

"Oh come on Logan… you aren't that stupid…" she begged _. I have to get out of here…. It won't change anything…._

Her heart skittered into almost cardiac arrest when he braced her face between his thumbs and held her steadfast, his brown eyes burning into hers. _This was a bad idea… she was dating his roommate Duncan… she had a boyfriend…_

"Pretend for a second I am…" he swallowed hard; his heart was racing as she broke eye contact and looked down at her feet. _He needed her to answer him… had to have her to say it…_

"It doesn't matter… because what we had… we are nothing now… we are through" she declared firmly and for long heated seconds their gazes duelled before he lowered his mouth and kissed her, a throaty moan of protest escaped her but that resistance only lasted a moment before she got lost to the taste of him, the feel of his lips against hers, the ferocity of that kiss rocked the very foundations of her world and when he broke the kiss, it was like walking out of a sauna into a plunge pool. Her pulse was racing and she stared up at him in stunned surprise.

Rational thought filtered back to her and she ran a finger across her tingling lips, glaring up at him.

"I really wish you hadn't done that…" she said weakly.

His voice was guttural and almost coarse as he scrutinized her with his unreadable brown eyes.

"You still love me…"


	11. Chapter 11

"You're _in love_ with me…" Logan told her as the shock of this recent revelation sank in. All this time he had been convinced that Veronica absolutely hated him, that she considered him as one more undesirable loose thread from her past that he wouldn't let her shake free from, but he had been wrong. It wasn't a statement, it was a fact, he could tell from the helpless way her face paled and her blue eyes widened before she could formulate a denial as she took another step backwards, out of his reach. "You never said anything…" he continued, his voice permeated her body like it had found a home.

 _You let me think you hated me…_

His heart was beating erratically as he looked at the petite blond in front of him.

"You don't know what you are talking about…" she denied trying her best to maintain as much space between them as possible, she was all too aware of him as a physical being.

"The _Hell_ I don't!" he protested, the patronising, all knowing tone made her bristle.

 _He felt it in that kiss… she could try and tell him it meant nothing… she couldn't refute that passion though.._

"No you **_don't_**!" she snapped emphatically. "I-I have a boyfriend…"

 _She couldn't let him get her sucked into that chaos again… normal was the watchword…_

"No… you have Duncan… and we both know you don't feel about him the way you feel about me…" he corrected her.

He should feel ashamed of himself, he knew that… Duncan was his roommate, his best friend… he'd told him to stay away from Veronica and here he was trying his damnedest not to grab hold of her and kiss her… Again.

"You're right! You know how much I've loved him… how much I've always loved him…" she said angrily with such blood thirsty venom as she struggled for some semblance of control over herself as the panic began, her mind trying to reel itself back into the stockade of rationality she had erected around herself these last few months. "It's **always** been Duncan… y-you… don't… I-I'm not…"

 _Anger is my refuge…_

"You are lying… it was… once.." he insisted, she was unpredictable, a woman he couldn't read but as his gaze lingered on her, the jumpy, caged look, he knew he was right.

"I love him, okay? I want you to get out of my way.." she said firmly as she pushed past him towards the door.

 _Why was she so insistent on trying to push him away again? He knew the truth now…_

"I'm in love with **_you_** … and you let me think that what we had meant absolutely nothing to you… for **_months_** … do you have any idea what that's been doing to me?" he pleaded.

The pain in his voice stopped her cold, her hand frozen on the door.

"It doesn't change anything…" she said weakly.

 _He's a playboy… he's manipulating you again... and between two people who were equally fond of and frustrated by each other this kind of crap is inevitable… him with his pop-culture references, her in her P.I. ass-kicking skills… it still doesn't mean it will work…_

"How can it not change anything? It changes everything! You are in love with me…" he protested.

"He's your best friend Logan… have you forgotten that part already?" she snapped.

 _I won't hurt Duncan like that… I'm not a cheater like one of those sleaze bags at the Camelott…. Why can't he just let this go?_

"You don't belong with him…" Logan begged. _You're mine…_

"Oh… and I suppose you think that I belong with you?" she said sarcastically.

 _Yes dammit! Why was the woman so stubborn?_

She had taken their disastrous relationship last summer as a sign that just because you could spend your life making someone miserable doesn't mean you should. She'd tried… she'd given him everything… and he lied to her.

He said nothing, but the I-love-you-so-much-it-actually-hurts look in his eyes was a resounding yes.

"He doesn't deserve this…" Veronica said shaking her head as he approached her again but he stopped as he saw her hand tighten its grip on the handle. _Duncan had done nothing wrong…._

"And you think I **_do_**?" he choked. "I miss you… and I think about you all the time… and it kills me that you made a _conscious decision_ not to be with me…"

 _Oh God… why was he doing this to her?_

She gaped at him. "Are you fucking serious? You know, I've tried staying away from you. I've tried ignoring how I feel about you… and you won't just leave me alone! So what do you expect now Logan? To Hell with Duncan? Maybe I'll just update my Facebook to 'in a relationship' and tag you?"

 _Honestly? He wasn't sure… he'd thought she hated him… he never imagined that she felt the same way he did…_

"I've never been sorrier about anything than I am about last summer" he told her earnestly. He dropped his forehead to look at the floor. "And I'm more than willing to spend the rest of my life making it up to you, because I am so fucking in love with you… in a way I've never loved someone before."

"I've skipped right out of drama llama land and straight into crazy jackass land." She sighed, dropping her facial expression as she pressed her head against the back of the door. _Damn it all…_ "You can't just run around saying shit like that to people Logan! Who even does that?"

Contemplating for a few seconds she looked him directly in the eye. _Why did he have to be such a beautiful bastard?_

"Maybe since it's true?" he scoffed. _How could she still reject him after that kiss?_

He was aching to press her against the door and take her in his arms, to kiss her again until she lost all thoughts of any other man…

"Is it? Or is it just another case of a self-entitled trust fund kid interested in the girl seemingly immune to his advances, and shockingly capable of saying no to him?" She said crossly, her blue eyes glaring at him. "The perfect challenge. And the more she rejects him, the more he begins to fantasize that she may just be his perfect match? Face it Logan… it's not Love… its **obsession** … and the only reason you are so hung up on me is because I walked away"

 _It's not me he wants… it's because he didn't get his own way…._

"Is that really what you think of me?" he demanded.

"I certainly don't have reason not to… You miss me?" she scoffed. "You _sure_ seemed to miss me when you've been screwing Kendall Casablanca's and God knows who **else** for months!" she snapped.

"You got back together with Duncan!" he countered. "You think I **_want_** Kendall? It doesn't mean anything…" For a fraction of a second their eyes met in mutual hurt and jealousy, blazing possessiveness coupled with something primitive that sent the tension between them sizzling.

 _Kendall was an opportunist, an amoral cat who would bed anyone willing to reach her price of good times, no strings, no tomorrows._

" **Right** … because you skip school because she snaps her bikini strap… I'm dating Duncan… how dare you spring this crap on me now?!" she replied angrily.

"You don't _want_ him…" Logan protested. _Not like you want me…_ No matter how much he'd had to listen to them over the last few weeks… _He had seen it in the way she looked at him…Why couldn't she just admit it?_

"I'm sure you've heard how much I don't **_want_** him…" she mocked.

 _Was she intentionally **trying** to hurt him? _

"Dammit Veronica! You make me so angry… why can't you just admit it?" he cursed.

"Why can't you just let it go?" Veronica retorted, exasperated.

 _Let it go? How could she even…?_

"Because I don't know how!" he fumed as he inhaled sharply, taking a few steps back until he was leaning against the sink counter, running his fingers through his tousled brown hair. "You think I want to be like this? You think I haven't been going out of my mind because of you?" _I **Love** you!_

"Great… so it's all **_my_** fault again Logan? I am really trying here… I am really trying to move on after Lilly… to be happy… and I can't do that with you constantly there…. I was getting along fine… and then **_you_** happened…"

"Well if you _can't_ … then **don't** …" he retorted. _Give me another chance…_

"I just want let you go… I don't think we are right for each other…" she whispered, a muscle tensed in her jaw, the only small sign that she showed any discomfort at all.

"Perfect… well thanks for stopping by…" he murmured glumly. _For such a petite fragile looking thing, she had the bite of a cobra. Why did he get his hopes up? I guess she won't help me find anything out about that witness._

"Logan… you have to see that…I don't see how it's going to work" she huffed, as she stood for one long motionless agonizing moment, her gaze involuntarily appraised him, he was gorgeous, dark haired, brilliant with a dry wit… he sent every neuron in her body firing like a lightning strike.

"No… I get it… so do I owe you now? Should I be feeling grateful to be worthy of your big sacrifices? Go back to being best buds with Duncan? Should I be helping Duncan organize dates for you both? Give him tips on how to get you off while you spend your nights in his bed instead of mine? Spend the rest of Senior year in this **_cage_** and not breathe a word about how much it's destroying me?" Logan scoffed bitterly.

 _She didn't want to hurt him… but she wasn't strong enough to dive back in…he wasn't going to change… and she couldn't stand by and watch…._

"What did you expect? I loved you… and just because we broke up doesn't me I can just turn it off… but that doesn't give you the right to start screwing with my head like this!" she objected. "I'm not going to have this conversation again… you can't just kiss me… and think that all of it goes away… you sabotaged things... it doesn't work between us…."

"I didn't think it would but… if you walk away now… I am done running after you.." he warned, his espresso-brown eyes hardened. "This can't be it Veronica…" his voice softened as he pleaded with her. "This matter's and you know it…" He stood there, watching her oozing masculine confidence like a miasma, waiting for her to say something, all her temptations rolled into six-foot-two inches of strong supple male, her teen nemesis.

 _Escape and Evade Mars…_

"You and I… we have something… but whatever we have… between us.. we are better off apart… I'm sorry Logan…" her blue eyes looked away from his velvety brown gaze as his face fell, breaking something in her chest all over again, he looked like like she had just slapped him before she gripped the door handle and left him standing there. The tears she had been choking down finally tumbling down as she snuck into the empty newspaper classroom and leaned against the door.


	12. Chapter 12

"I love you… most ardently… forgive me madam for taking up so much of your time" Zachary Collins said as he graced the stage in the Neptune High auditorium as an impassioned Mr Darcy. Mr Daniels and the rest of the English department had taken it upon themselves to swap out their lessons that morning with the last class computer classes of the afternoon for attendance instead to the rehearsals for the drama clubs production of Pride and Prejudice.

His mind kept replaying the argument he'd had with Veronica in the girl's bathroom.

 _"You and I, we have something between us… but we are better off apart…"_

"My affections and wishes have not changed.. you have bewitched me.. I love you… I never wish to be parted from this day forward.." Zachary declared to a starry eyed May McConnell as she stood in her period dress as an enamoured Elizabeth Bennett.

Of course, in the play, like the book. Those three little words made the headstrong, stubborn and argumentative heroine fall completely incandescently happily into the heroes arms. He'd had no such luck when he'd told Veronica his feelings, so here he was, sitting in the back row beside Dick and Beaver, sipping whiskey out of his hipflask. Lovesick, broken and tormenting himself watching the girl he loved sit beside his roommate Duncan Kane who had decided to make an appearance just after lunch before journalism class.

 _Was she going to tell Duncan that he had kissed her?_

What had he been expecting would happen? She'd had every day for the last few months since their break up to change her mind and choose him instead… but he guessed… he was really the Mr Wickham's in this story… and Duncan was her Mr Darcy.

 _Co-habitation never felt so fucking cozy… if his next place wouldn't end up getting torched, then he would be tempted to move out before he viciously murdered his roommate._

Home was supposed to be a sanctuary, but surely is said something that the small bar Mermaid's Inn down on the boardwalk felt more like home than his Penthouse in the Neptune Grand. It really said something for his constitution that he managed to drive back to the parking lot in the Neptune Grand before getting the front Mona from the front desk to get him a cab over to the Neptune Plazza Pier.

"Hey Boilermaker" Daisy smiled the bartender said as Logan walked in and took up his usual seat at the bar. He cast a quick look in the manager's office direction and glanced back at Daisy. "You are safe, Sal isn't here tonight" she assured him before she started to mix his usual drink.

"Boilermaker?" Dick asked as he slid into the seat beside Logan.

"It's a drink.. a beer and a shot of whiskey" Daisy explained.

"And uh… who might you be?" Dick asked suggestively.

"Out of your league, Blonde" Daisy replied sarcastically before she handed Logan his drink.

"I'll have a beer for my friend here… thanks Daisy" Logan sighed.

"Oh no… you got that look again… stay off the karaoke machine tonight" she warned him.

"And deny you the pleasure?" he quipped as he sipped his drink.

"I'm serious..." she warned.

He liked Daisy, she had a hard as nails, take no prisoners kind of attitude and Logan had personally seen her kick the ass of a guy twice her size. She knew how to hustle a table and she was dating one of the security guys from the Neptune Grand that Logan had become friendly with after two of the PCHers had tried to follow Logan inside. He felt safe here.

"Dude… this place is dive…" Dick muttered under his breath.

"This place… serves me without ID and according to my ankle monitor… say's I'm in the arcade next door" Logan explained.

"You can get beers at home from room service minus the sticky floor and stale peanuts…" Dick complained as he looked around the smoky room at the pool tables.

 _Home meant Duncan… home meant being told to stop drinking and go to bed… home meant having to share a space with the guy who Veronica was fucking…_

"Yes… but then he doesn't get to come in here and flirt with the bar staff" a deep voice from behind them said. Turning Dick looked up at the large African American door man dressed in a black shirt and tie who crossed his arms and glared down at the newcomer.

"Toni, it's fine… Blonde here knows to behave, don't you pup?" Daisy smiled.

"Any trouble… and I'll be making sure does in future" Toni warned.

"It's cool… me and Tristin Hayes here got no problems" Dick smiled uneasily as he pointed at Daisy.

"Good… because you the last person you want to be having a conversation in here is me…" Toni grumbled before he wandered back to his stool to read the crosswords.

 _No... the last person I wanna be having a conversation with is Duncan Kane... had Veronica told him about that kiss yet?_

"Did you at least bring fake ID?" Daisy asked, raising an eyebrow, looking at Beaver who stood nervously beside his older brother.

"Yes…" Logan smiled, handing over a $50 bill.

"Good… because I think there's an _inspection_ tonight" She advised him, as she handed him a cigar.

"Logan… how do you even know this place?" Dick quizzed him as the two of them got up to start playing some pool.

"There's a poker table out back… Daisy here runs the cards…" he explained in a hushed tone, pointing at the small table being set up in the corner.

 _He was here to distract himself from a broken heart..._

"We could just have headed to the Casino floor in the Neptune Galaxy Resort?" Dick reasoned.

"Where do you think I met Daisy?" Logan sighed.

It had been during one of his last benders when he'd stormed off the first night that he'd come home to the apartment to realize that Veronica and Duncan were having sex. He'd flirted with her, but turned out that Daisy prefered female company, he'd stepped in when one of the other drunken hotel patrons decided to get a little too familiar with the slender brunette. She hadn't needed his help of course, but the two had crossed paths on occasion and they'd formed a kind of friendly acquaintance.

"Come on Man… This place feels kinda sketchy…" Dick argued.

"If there's no risk.. where's the fun?" he replied, throwing Dick the chalk for his cue. "Your break"

"I thought we were going out?" Cassidy complained to Dick.

"We are out…" Logan declared as he downed his drink. "Go home if you want… I'm here until closing"

 _I've nowhere else to go..._


	13. Chapter 13

It was impossible to concentrate, the words of their argument from earlier still ricocheted around her head like rapid gun fire.

 _"I'm in love with you… and you let me think what we had meant absolutely nothing to you… for months…"_

Her mind felt weirdly disconnected from the hustle and bustle of the Java the Hut café, all anyone would have seen behind the counter of the cake stand was a pretty blond with keenly observant blue eyes, a pointed picture of self-containment.

 _Why was she still thinking about Logan when she had vehemently forbidden herself from thinking about him?_

He was a playboy, he looked for other excitement and adventures, parties, physical thrills, experimented with drugs… she couldn't change him.

 _So don't go there._

 _Ever._

Not to mention the fact that Duncan was annoyed with her for some reason… he had invited her over again this evening after her shift and she had visibly dithered over her decision to refuse.

"This Decaf Soy Latte With An Extra Shot with Cream, Sugar-Free Syrup, Light Ice, No Whip is cold" Madison Sinclair complained her eyes glinting with malicious glee as she noted the tense defensiveness of the sharp tilt of Veronica's chin, and the wariness in her eyes as she regarded the cheerleader.

"Might that have been the _Light Ice_ in it that you specifically asked for?" Veronica retorted doing nothing to disguise her jeering contempt.

"Whatever… I want a replacement… and a complimentary gluten free cinnamon roll with raisins" she snarked and Veronica did her best to choke back the deep resentment at the arrogance of that statement. Madison Sinclair was honey all over, and men flocked to her like bees.

"Ohh shoot… all out of gluten free cinnamon rolls… You've got what you came for… go" Veronica replied, her mouth quirked in an ironic little sweet smile as she held up the replacement coffee. At least Satan's little complaint had provided her with a much needed distraction from the knowledge that Logan now knew that she wasn't as emotionally cold to him as she had been pretending over the last few months. Sighing over that wretched mistake she dragged her feet over to the espresso machine and began to clean the filters.

 _"I miss you… and I think about you all the time… and it kills me that you made a conscious decision not to be with me…"_

 _Oh Logan… didn't he understand that it was killing them both?_

"Hey.. I just got a text from my dad, his girlfriend's babysitter cancelled and they had these tickets to that Wolfham fundraiser over by 23rd and Oakland… would you mind staying until closing? Please… I wouldn't ask but he's been on my ass about making more of an effort… I would owe you so big!" Gracey pleaded, her almond shaped green eyes begging.

"Sure thing" Veronica smiled.

 _Great… now she had a valid excuse now for not going to see Duncan after work._

The thought of having to go back to the Neptune Grand after the revelations of today was just too much.

 _A man who doesn't love, isn't really a man…_

"Mars Investigations?" her father's voice answered.

"Hey Dad.. I won't be home for dinner" Veronica told him. "Can you take Backup out?"

"Working late?" he asked, but his voice had an edge, a very parental edge.

 _Don't worry father… I am not going to see Duncan tonight…_ _How can I stay with Duncan when I know I'm hurting Logan?_

"Yeah, Gracey has to go home early so I'm staying with Matt to help close up shop… I won't be out too late" she explained.

"And if I call in unexpectedly…?" he taunted.

"You will have to deal with one over caffeinated cranky daughter and probably go home with some stale angel cake" she sighed.

"Alright… well, drive safe and maybe you could bring home some of those hot cross buns for breakfast…" he suggested.

"I thought Dr Nelson told you to watch your cholesterol?" Veronica scolded.

"Sorry honey.. this is a terrible line…" Keith joked.

"Fine… you can have a croissant, but no hot cross buns" she relented.

"Night" he chuckled.

"Night dad" she smiled.

"Veronica… some blond girl just made a complaint about her drink being cold?" Matt asked.

"Did she look like the embodiment of pure evil?" Veronica retorted.

"Ummm… like a cheerleader?" he offered.

 _Fucking bitch…._

"That's Madison… Hell incarnate" she explained. "I've already replaced that drink.. if she doesn't like it she can go to Starbucks"

"Okay…" he sighed as he grabbed a few loyalty coupons.

 _Loyalty… the only thing Madison Sinclair knows about loyalty is not to use an off-brand lip gloss…_

Lucille, a curvy Italian-American student from the Hearst University music department who came in regularly with her friends to use the free Wi-Fi and grace the stage for a tester panel for their material. The music started playing and she began a very sultry version of SHY Martin's – Good Together.

"Are you kidding me?" Veronica groaned under her breath.

 _Maybe she was crazy…why couldn't she just drop this?_

 _"Because I don't know how! You think I want to be like this?"_ the sound of the anguish in his voice ripped through her again.

"I don't either…" she whispered to no one in particular.

They couldn't be together… not now. It wasn't about forgiveness, it was about his safety, didn't he understand that? His dad was plotting something, Veronica could feel it. The PCHers were circling like sharks and she didn't have the resources to protect him like Duncan could. Staying in the Neptune Grand was the safest place for him, having someone who gave a shit if he made it home, who would send the Sheriff's Department looking for him… it mattered, and if he couldn't think long term enough to look after himself, then someone would have to make those choices for him.

Even if it meant breaking her own heart to make sure he stayed protected.

Her feet were throbbing by the time her shift was almost over, she said good bye to Matt who was locking things up into the safe and gathered up the garbage bags.

"End of another long and torturous day… I swear if I had to listen to another Maria Carey wannabe caterwaul their way through a rendition of Chandelier again… I was going to lose it" Matt laughed.

"You sure you don't want a ride?" Veronica offered as she handed him the garbage bags to throw into the dumpster.

"No my girlfriends picking me up, I'm good" he smiled, Matt was a charming guy, when he wanted to be. He'd arrived at undergrad as a total emo kid, all black clothing and gloomy disposition before he'd met Dara, his girlfriend, now, he was that cool alternative guy at the party that knew all the best bands before you did.

"Okay, well safe home" she replied as she tucked her scarf into the leather jacket she was wearing. The moon was full and there was a strong ocean breeze coming in from along the boardwalk.

"Shouldn't that be my line?" he chuckled.

"Do I look like a damsel?" she said raising an eyebrow.

"If I didn't know you maybe…" he commented before he slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed in the opposite direction, giving her a small wave.

She glanced at her watch, it was almost midnight, ugh, so much for her muscle relaxing shower when she got home. Veronica's stomach growled as she mulled over her options, noodles could work she thought to herself as she passed by the Serenity Inn while several drunken patrons from the Rusty Knot made their way to the check in desk to book a room with their latest companions for the evening. Her mother had been spotted at a place like this in the most recent months since she had disappeared with the $50 grand from the Kane's finder's fee for find Duncan last year. After Lilly;s murder, Lianne Mars had found a new hobby: drinking incessantly. Her descent into alcoholism wasn't even surprising, it was just sad.

"Hello, 'scuse the interruption," a tall guy in suit began, slurring incoherently, "My name is Paul…" the man growled but she pretended to study her music playlist, ignoring him roundly. "I said hello," he insisted, refusing to be unheard. "Don't you have any manners?"

Frowning she made the bitchiest face she could muster and turned onto Clinton street out of the way, cutting through the Neptune Plazza Arcade and narrowly avoiding colliding with a young couple carrying blue and red slushies.

"Sorry" She mumbled and looked behind her to make sure her new friend Paul hadn't followed her.

"Come Daisy… I haven't even had that many…" Logan protested as the brunette bartender shook her head and took his pint off him.

"You will thank me tomorrow, you're friends left about an hour ago… go home" she insisted.

"Just one more..." he smiled, doing his best attempt to charm her. "Luck has been my lady tonight…"

"Absolutely not… I'm cutting you off, now you can either get a goodbye from me… or Toni's going to want a word" she sighed, she liked the kid, but he'd had too much to drink tonight and the other players were pissed because he had cleaned them out for the last two games.

"Okay… well… I'll miss you…" he taunted as he gave a quick peck on the forehead.

"And I won't miss trying to stop Carlos from looking at you like how he affords his next Lexus" she warned, checking that the large Hispanic gentleman was still sitting at his table reviewing his new cards.

"Adios…" he smiled as he turned and walked out into the cold night air.

Where to now Echolls? He mused to himself, room service was closed, he was sick of looking at Pizza… where was that little Asian fusion place that Dick had taken him too last weekend?

"Ah… there it is…" he sighed looking up at the sign.

 _Fookin Noodle Bar… 24/7 Asian fusion._

Stepping out of the cold, he surveyed the menu for several minutes while he tried to decide what he wanted, a petite blond stepped into the queue beside him and he cast a glance sideways.

"Mie ay am to go please" Veronica asked the cashier who nodded politely.

"You know…the whole point of my going out tonight was so I didn't have to see you…" Logan quipped, startled Veronica automatically looked up, and there he was. "Oh don't worry… Never underestimate a man's ability to make you feel guilty for his mistakes" he smiled before stepping forward to pick up a menu.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Trying to decide between dumplings and Pad Thai" he told her. "I was trying to avoid listening to you and my wonderful roommate having sex… but seems I didn't have to worry… you know we really should work out some kind of schedule so we can avoid these kinds of awkward situations… how do you feel about Wednesdays and Fridays?"

"This is hardly the place… have you been drinking?" she fumed.

"Or would you prefer Tuesdays and Thursday's? I think it's only fair that I get the weekends, because well.. I'm a man… and it's my apartment… does your dad still care so much about your virtue, or was that rifle only ever trained on me?" he mused.

"Will you just stop?!" she snapped.

"I'll have the Kung Pao Chicken on noodles, thanks" Logan said to the guy over the counter.

"Did you drive here?" she asked angrily.

"Not that it's any of your business… but no…" he retorted, his brown eyes finally looking at her.

 _Damn she was still so beautiful…_

"How did you get here?" she sighed.

"You know.. I never told you this before… but it doesn't really matter now that we are… done forever and what not… but it is such a fucking turn on when you get mad at me" he flirted.

"Cut the crap Logan… how are you getting home?" she demanded.

"Why? You want to take me home?" he said in a husky tone that sent her pulse racing.

"$28.87" the guy at the counter said.

"We aren't together.." Veronica insisted.

"We could be… but you prefer faking the Donut…" Logan replied, his gaze impaling hers as he handed over a $50 to pay for both meals. "Keep the change"

"I'm perfectly capable of getting it myself…" she snapped, folding her arms defensively across her chest.

"I know… the independent Ms Mars… she doesn't need anything from me but my absence" he frowned.

"And yet you always show up anyway…" she said sarcastically.

"Gotta keep reminding you what you are missing…" he retorted as he took a sip out of his hipflask before the petite blond pulled it out of his hand.

"Are you crazy?" she complained tucking it into her bag. The hours of this place meant it was frequented by the Deputy's of the Sheriff's department on a regular basis, Logan was still on his ankle monitor… if he was caught underage drinking while out on bail?

"Careful… someone might think that you care" he taunted.

"You are impossible" she said through gritted teeth.

"No… I'm Possible… you just refuse to admit it to yourself.." he corrected.

"He's your roommate" she reminded him firmly.

"Like the sounds of you the sex you two keep having would let me forget…" he snapped sardonically.

"How are you getting home?" she asked again.

"Who said I want to go home?" he scoffed, putting his hands into his hoodie pockets.

"It's midnight Logan… you can't stay out here…" she warned.

"Maybe I'll get one of my little playmates to come out and have some fun?" he replied sarcastically.

"Or I could gag you and put you in the trunk of my car" she snapped, pulling his cell phone out of his hand.

"You get cute when you're jealous…" he teased, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"You are such a jackass…" she cursed.

"I'm only like this because of you…" he sighed.

"Blaming me again? You know… that's the kind of shit that manipulative narcissist psychotic assholes do…" she retorted. "Makes me think maybe the apple didn't fall so far from the tree after all"

"How can you even say something like that to me?!" he snapped.

"Umm… here's your order…" the counter staff said quietly.

"Look in a mirror… the answer should be obvious.." she told him coldly before grabbing her food and storming out. Furiously Logan grabbed his own food and followed her outside.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"It means… how can you expect the girl that your father almost BURNED to death to trust you… after you decided to spend the summer playing ARSONIST?" she cried. "You think that it's as easy as you saying sorry Logan… do you have any idea the nightmare's I'm still having because of that night?"

"You think I don't realise that now? I screwed up okay? I'm sorry…." He rasped. "They fired a shotgun through car… they almost killed us Veronica… I had to send a message… I had to push back… to do something to protect you…" he pleaded, cupping her face.

"I know that…" she sobbed, the touch of his warm hand on her face made her lean against his palm.

 _What am I doing?_

"Then why are you still punishing me?" he asked.

"Get your own ride home.." she said finally stepping away from him and storming off down the boardwalk.


	14. Chapter 14

Logan watched as the teen sleuth stormed off down the boardwalk away from him and decided throw two fingers up at the common sense that was telling him just to go home.

"You still have my hipflask" he snapped as he followed her.

"I'll give it back tomorrow if I don't decide to do us all a favour and throw it into the ocean if you keep following me" Veronica retorted as she threw the words over her shoulder at him. Her voice sounded like she wanted to stomp on him until he was confetti.

"Lilly gave it to me" he said firmly, and he stared at her as she stopped cold, sighed and turned around reaching into her bag and handing it out to him without looking at him directly.

"You are crying…" his voice was guttural and almost coarse as he looked at the tears she brushed angrily away from her eyes.

"Well it's that or scream" she sniffed, she was exhausted. "I can't fight with you anymore Logan… please just leave…" folding her arms across her chest and trying not to shiver with the cold. The temperature had dropped and there was that unmistakable scent of rain not too far off.

"I don't want to fight with you either Veronica… I just want you… not that you care…" he told her simply. "I'm doing everything I can to forget you…" he sniffed tucking the hipflask into the back of his jeans.

"You really shouldn't carry that around… if Lamb catches you…" she sighed. _Why did he continue to do these things?_

"What? He might throw me back into a cell with my dad?" Logan scoffed as he stood beside her.

"What?!" she spluttered in disbelief.

She had been at the Neptune Grand for the Mayor's Victory Gia Goodman Party that Duncan had hosted, the night her father lost the election when Logan had been arrested by Deputy Sacks for the murder of Felix Toomes. When she'd left the party, using the excuse she was going to remove the congratulations balloons from her dad's office and then go and see Logan… she'd found Abel Koontz laying outside the Mars Investigations doorway, dying. She'd spent the rest of the night trying to find somewhere that could provide palliative care, she had been so busy in the days following trying to track down his daughter Amelia, whom she'd found murdered in an ice machine that she hadn't given much thought to anything else that week. It wasn't until she'd went to visit Duncan that she heard that the Echolls family estate had been burned to the ground.

"Yeah… turns out our lovely Sheriff has a soft spot for family… thankfully your buddy Cliff got me out… you didn't know?" he asked.

"No…" she choked. "Why didn't you call me?"

"What would have been the point? You saw me get arrested… when you didn't show I presumed you just didn't care…" he recounted quietly.

"I didn't care? How could you think that… even for a second?!" exasperated Veronica as her blue eyes flashed angrily.

"Well you never came… and I just figured you couldn't tear yourself from Duncan…" he snapped jealously.

"I was working on a case! Abel Koontz's daughter, Amelia was murdered! I found her body!" she asserted. "I found him outside my dad's office the night you got arrested.. he was dying and he asked me to find her…. I did.. stuffed into an ice machine in some flea motel" her tone was churlish.

 _She hadn't been ignoring him…_

Some weight he didn't know had been pressing down on him released, she wasn't treating him like he was just a defective toy that the shop wouldn't take back… she just hadn't known…

"You never said anything…" he noted, his heart somersaulted.

"Well it's not exactly like we've been so great at talking lately… every time you were around all you did was bicker with me" she pointed out dryly, her eyes were red and she did her best avoid his gaze.

"Well I did kind of think that you hated me…" Logan reminded her.

"I don't think I'll ever have it in me to hate you Logan.." she told him weakly "Isn't that kind of the problem?"

"Oh Gee… I'm sorry being in love with me is such an inconvenience for you" he chided bitterly, staring at her with those chocolate eyes that could melt or freeze on a dime. The moon that still escaped through the dark clouds bathed her in a dazzling silver light.

"Dammit Logan, we can't keep talking around in circles…" her voice had been huskier than she had intended. She looked at him without her usual perpetually cynical armour and for once she let him in, he got to see the hurt, the love, the regret, the anger, all of it… everything she hid under that carefully constructed disguise that she barely tolerated him. He would put an end to this estrangement tonight. Tension flared, thick and dangerously flammable, she wasn't sure if it was the lightning flashing a few miles away from the shore or the intensity of his gaze.

It was almost like slow motion suicide when finally broke the silence between them by closing the distance between them, her heart surged against her ribs as his lips brushed hers, the first crack of thunder rolling overhead, a wild staccato sort of pounding began in his veins, thick, sweet and dizzying as she yielded, relaxing into his kiss. Returning it, an endless, impossible, erotic kiss eliciting a moan from deep within him. Wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her slender body against him, a throaty moan escaped from her as the rain began to fall heavily.

His tongue moved against hers in an echo of the duelling that had always been how they had communicated, moving sinuously, provocatively, teasing… never getting them quite close enough as they deepened the kiss. Her mind stuttered to a halt, some electrifying magnetism was pulling them together. She wrapped her arms around his neck, undulating against him, her fingers buried in his hair, she wanted to possess every cell of him, he had embedded himself deep inside her heart, as much as she had tried to escape it all she could do was try not to drown in the torrential storm raging over her senses as she clung to him.

 _What the hell was she doing?_

Some rational part of her mind was screaming at her to stop but it felt too distant.. too muted the fire in her blood, the desire stirring her body to life.

 _Fires like this could tear the world apart…_

She had simply ignited under his touch and her body was helpless, his mouth slanted, cupping the back of her neck as she finally dropped the food she had been holding and he picked her up, her petite legs wrapped around his waist. Her body felt like a rag doll and she just gave in as he plundered her mouth.

"You're right Veronica… we can't keep talking in circles… you have to choose" his voice was gritty enough to make her shiver, he was a territorial lover. He was so hard he thought he'd break, so aroused that he couldn't breathe, and so captivated all he could do was hold still and gaze into her drown-in-me blue eyes.

"Why do you have to be such a damn good kisser?" she blinked, trying to corral her thoughts.

 _This was on her… he'd been drinking… did she really believe that the animal attraction between them was just going to fade away because she'd drawn a line in the sand? Stay cool it's just a kiss…_

"Why do you have to be the love of my life? I've tried everything I can to get over you…" he countered his eyes darkened like bittersweet dark chocolate before he kissed her again, a thorough deep, intense kiss that sent their pulses racing.

 _Sexy, Vibrant, Hungry._

She felt safe with Duncan, adored, loved.. and for months Logan had been like some other person, some bitter jealous guy with an axe to grind… yet she knew he craved her smile, her laughter, her eyes on him almost as much as he craved their current closeness.

 _Just like she craved his... kissing anyone else felt like the universe was out of alignment…_

Cutting the Gordian Knot of her control she kissed him back feverishly. The rain poured down over their bodies, it was freezing but she wasn't cold, heat slicked through her veins as a textual symphony made her cling to him.

"If you don't love me… then don't say you do… " he pleaded. "But if you do… don't say you don't if you don't mean it…" his breathing ragged, as he stared into her most attractive feature, her aquamarine eyes as her mouth tightened a fraction and she nodded. Soft and pliant, her released her petite body, his hands still on her narrow little waist, the smooth curve of her hips, so provocative and tempting. His big brown eyes roaming, appraising… searching for her answer.

 _What was it about being around Logan that made her wish for carefully designed rooms padded with mattresses from floor to ceiling?_

Fatigued from all the myriad of tugs he'd made at the wall around her heart she felt her it break again. She would have to make that wall impregnable for both of their sakes. Tucking a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear she judged the potentially hostile terrain, the silence was killing him.

"Why can't I just be good enough for you Veronica..?" it was a brusque question.

If she was a good person, she should be going… how many nights had she condemned her mother for cheating with Jake Kane and hurting her dad?

"I'm not good for you Logan…" she sobbed. "Being with me… it will cost you everything… haven't I taken enough?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked as the lightning flashed behind her.

"You were on that bridge because of me!" she cried. "And if we do this… Duncan will never speak to again…and you need friends right now… I will always have your back…. But I can't give you everything you want… not right now… not if I want to keep you safe"

"What good is safe if being without you feels like I'm dying?" he countered. "Do you love me?"

"I do love you. You know I do… it's never been about that…" she told him shakily.

 _Why did admitting that she loved him scare her so much? Maybe because the last person she had told that to when she genuinely meant it turned around and walked away… saying it could burn your life to the ground…_

"Then you need to pick what it is you want" he told her quietly, kissing her on the forehead, silently praying it wouldn't be the last time.

 _She wasn't trying to push him away… she was trying to hold onto him for dear life…_

"I want you… I can't let it go… and I'm so scared of losing you…" she breathed in a voice not much more than a whisper. He wasn't even sure he heard her at first.

"You won't… I'd rather go down than go on without you…" he told her solemnly.

She'd missed him more than she thought she would… this isn't where love was supposed to be, in the eyes of this reckless bad boy, in the arms of the person who she had resented her for so long.. but there it was. Undeniable, irrepressible, undying… soul binding love. He could break her heart in the blink of an eye.

"I don't want to hurt him…" she sighed as she reached out and interlaced her fingers with his.

"He'll get by… he lasted a year without you…. I can barely make it a day" Logan replied, his grip tightening around her petite hand, pulling her closer and hugging her close as the storm raged around them.


	15. Chapter 15

The problem with the movie reveals and the romance novel endings is that the problems in real life didn't vanish after someone declared I love you. Real life, was complicated, there were loop holes and strings everywhere to trip you up. After both the leading characters finally admitted their mutual desires, there was still the messy business of unlinking everything in their former lives. The bills, the jobs that required notice periods, the cancelled plan tickets. The roommate and boyfriend who still existed despite everything that had happened between him and Veronica last night.

 _She was in love with him._

 _There is a fine line between love and hate, right? We always hurt the ones we love the most. We lash out, confront them, say harsh words, punish...all for what? To hide ourselves? To protect ourselves? For what? What happens when we can't hurt the ones who hurt you? Turn to others to let it all go? Punish others for someone else's mistakes?_

Logan couldn't quite wrap his head around that fact, it didn't compute. It didn't match up with the way she had gone to such great lengths to avoid him recently. She'd driven him back to his hotel suite and the two of them had barely spoken as much as he had wanted to bring her back here with him.

 _Would she break up with Duncan and get back together with him?_

That kind of make-believe was dangerous; it could only get him into trouble. Just like the vision of waking up with her naked in his bed, a tangle of limbs glistening and entwined on is sheets. The sting of that frustration still plagued him, the hangover from those drinks Daisy gave him last night, mixed with the self-recrimination over his amorous usurping of his best friends relationship had him staring at his ceiling wishing that he wasn't such a screw up.

 _She loves me... She loves me not... She loves me... She loves me not..._

There were several down powerlines from the result of the thunderstorm last night, so only a few on the channels on his television were available. The early storms ravaging California's coastline hadn't eased in the last two days so he wasn't going to risk getting on his board today.

"Do you ever leave that room? I'm starting to worry you are going to grow roots" Duncan joked as he leaned against the doorway. "Room service, you want something?"

"Uh… just the usual continental?" he suggested as he pulled his favourite green t-shirt from its hanger and pulled it on. Duncan gave him a half-smile and nodded, tossing him a small box. Puzzled Logan caught it and looked down. _Aspirin._ He did his best to shake away the twinges of conscience that pricked him. Logan left the bedroom before he could criticize himself further, knocking back the pills and chasing it with a swig of the espresso he picked up.

 _What the hell was he doing?_

"Dick was wanting to know if you wanted to go to a party at Madison's tonight" Duncan continued as he pressed the various options on the phone for the room service order.

"I'll think about it" he nodded not quite able to meet his best friend's eye.

"I know this whole situation is less than ideal… personally I was worried it could all end up some beautiful disaster, but I want to make this work" Duncan told him earnestly. His best friend… the guy whose floor he'd slept on when his dad was home from in between productions. The guy whose sister had been his first love, and the guy whose girlfriend had spent most of that thunderstorm last night kissing Logan… She was stubborn, feisty, and incredibly sexy, smart mouthed, sassy, surrounded by soft beauty, a hot body and with a spine of steel, Veronica sure knew how to dish it, and she could take it just as well. She was a million miles away from his usual brainless Barbie girlfriends, and man did he want her.

 _I'm going to ruin everything… enemies to lovers… Veronica wasn't Duncan's… she was his…_ an insidious voice inside him whispered.

Harmless flirting turned to stolen moments in dark corners, how much longer before he was unable to tolerate her in another man's arms before he gave into the Neanderthal that wanted to fight for her? Eventually, the temptation would become too much to resist.

His stomach lurched and he felt the bile rise in the back of his throat. He wanted to say something… to explain to Duncan how he was always going to be his best friend… how sorry he was about what his father had done to Lilly… how he was just like the brother he had always needed… how he didn't want to hurt him but that he just couldn't live without Veronica. Logan knew that Veronica's choices were about to create an intolerable situation… Senior year was going to last a very long time regardless of whatever she decided next. He knew that the invisible rope binding them together was as intense for her as it was for him. Logan knew most of his peers didn't approve of his infatuation with Veronica, someone who they considered beneath them, Dick constantly brought up the lack of pedigree in the girl who broke his heart. She had no time for celebrity gossip, designer clothes, or lazy vacations, and most of the 09ers considered her, and most of the rest of the non-privileged student body at Neptune High to be the cheap Help. It was a school of spoiled, trust-fund kids and before the murder of Felix Toomes, Logan had been just like them, he was the guy every girl wanted, and every guy wanted to be.

 _Veronica wasn't like any of them… she was unlike any girl he'd ever known…she was the purest thing in his world._

He was cracked and he was hollow, she was the light, the only thing holding all his broken pieces together, she always had been. Loving her could strip him bare… he'd always known what he felt for her was dipped in a thin shell of something that felt like love. He'd tried to shatter it, break it, and unleash pure hatred in its place after Lilly's murder. He didn't want to admit to himself to himself that she was the balm he had needed all along…

 _She could heal him, break him, love him and hate him._

She had the power to destroy him. Logan had been on that bridge with no vital signs… it had been the thought of never seeing her again as he lay in that floating darkness that had woken him up cold on that concrete… pushed him to fight through his injuries and get up. He'd been so blind before, in a privileged little bubble, he'd never seen the real Neptune until that night on the bridge. This pressure-cooker environment had used to be his playground... now it was where his future was forged in blood and sweat, and dreams were shattered in an instant.

Logan regarded his friend quietly, his cobalt blue eyes were eerily calm, but he knew when he found out about what he'd been up to with Veronica that they would blaze with fury. He knew that Veronica thought Duncan was practically perfect in every way, that she was unworthy even… and Logan?

 _He was a beautiful liar. A bully, the son of a monster and… ever since that night he was bruised and bloodied laying in her arms… a lover?_

He'd never regretted his mistreatment of her last year more than he did in the moments after he'd sat in on her couch the night she had broken up with him. She'd suspected him of Lilly's murder, she'd accused him of rape… she didn't trust him. It was written in her azure blue eyes every time she looked at him, and he knew it was because of those rumours, the whispers, and the jealousy he'd shown her when he couldn't handle his feelings. He'd done everything he could to be brutal towards her using his hateful behaviour to make her feel small and insignificant. She was his to torment and he made it known.

 _But she'd always been the one with the real power over him…her indifference to his antics had disarmed him…_

"I mean with you here, it feels like I've found something I misplaced" Duncan continued. "I wasn't there for you this summer. We were both going through a lot and I wasn't the friend you needed. I guess I blamed you a little… but it wasn't your fault… Dick and those guys… They give crazy parties, fuck around with every girl, smoke weed, get drunk and behave cruelly to nearly everyone else…. I couldn't be around it."

His friend just didn't get it… what Logan had with Veronica was a story of hate, love and obsession, they mutually made life a living hell with every opportunity… and both wanted to dissolve, melt and curl into one another and never leave, their epic push and pull between the two of them, and a playfulness underlying their adversarial actions. The woman definitely gave him a run for his money and for all his thinly veiled insults that he threw her way; he craved her underneath it all. Duncan wasn't stupid, their heated glances contained both longing and disgust, and their verbal exchanges were laced with frustration, anger, and lust. It was their foreplay.

He just wanted her to stop the emotional war. He wanted her to choose him. A hot arrogant jerk with a feisty heroine? They were made for each other.

 _They could be so good together…_

But as he looked at Duncan, absorbed his words… he felt like a complete and utter bastard.


	16. Chapter 16

Veronica rose, sashayed around the varnished expanse of wood of her father's desk in the Mars Investigation's office. He wasn't there; the new Mayor of Neptune Woody Goodman was talking to her father about a case. She was glad of the space, intrinsically over the last year, she had become a bit of a loner. Needing space to process her thoughts before she could make a decision, or react.

 _The bad boy vs the good girl…_

The chemistry between them was palpable, and she couldn't get Logan out of her mind.

Duncan was a good guy, he kept his cards close to his chest, he just so happened to be in the firing line. Her attraction to Logan could only leave wreckage. He was so haunted and troubled… and when it came to them, there was no middle ground. He could be cold and calculating, damaged beyond repair. He could be a serious jackass of a man, rich, arrogant, cruel, a bully but delicious in all ways that shouldn't feel good but oh my - it so did.

She loved him, she hated him and then loved him again.

She didn't regret kissing Logan, whatever it was that she wanted with him… she couldn't lie to herself anymore. It could be a mistake of epic proportions. He sucked her into his tangled web and wouldn't let her go. The only thing she could think about was the feel of his lips on hers, the cold water cascading over their bodies, his hands on her hips.

He'd ruined her previous year in high school. He bullied her, tortured her, threatened her, but it's when she started dating one of his closest friends, that Logan's jealousy really kicked in.

 _Enemies-to-lovers… he was entitled, and angry, and troubled, but was he redeemable?_

His nastiness hid how he was treated when he was younger and he was determined to right the wrongs done and didn't care who gets hurt in the process.

She glared at the quote on her AP English homework.

"I love you as a certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul."

Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets.

She was avoiding school, avoiding Duncan and Wallace… avoiding the inevitable.

 _Since when was she such a coward?_

There was something so deep inside of Logan that was damaged and sucked the light out of him. But he told her that she brought the light back… and being without him… her life as miserable as sin. It is said that there are seven deadly sins and the myriad of flaws encapsulated them both; pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth… they were guilty of them all.

Those brown eyes had burrowed their way inside her. He'd stared at her like he wanted to drag her to his bed like a caveman… and if he had…. She'd have let him. Hell, she'd almost wanted to beg him to.

Biting her lip she felt her heartbeat quicken, he kissed her possessively; she'd wanted him to remove her clothes with his teeth and take her right there in the rain.

 _God… what was wrong with her?_

He was the worst type of prick. But the most beautiful version of a prick she had ever come across. The boy she loved to hate, the enemy you want to keep close. The friend you don't want to piss off.

She had this coming, she'd created this mess, she was strongly beginning to suspect that had a thing for jerks. No… psychotic assholes was a more apt description, particularly those who were abusive and outright ridiculous…. But Logan was more than just a jackass.. he was a freaking hot, sexy, heart wrenching masterpiece.

She'd been hiding behind a façade of lies she had built to keep herself safe. She'd let him think that she was indifferent, that she hated him… nothing could have been further from the truth.

They felt like an epic love story, but dark and twisted in every sense of the word. Her bad boy lead with a nasty mouth and even nastier attitude but despite this he was so lost and vulnerable and she just wanted to save him.

"Oh Logan… what the hell do you want me to do?"


	17. Chapter 17

Veronica offered Wallace a quirky, sarcastic smile as a cacophony of female voices called through the halls of Neptune High, wishing him a good performance for tonight's upcoming basketball game.

"Careful… I think they are hunting" she joked.

"When predators strike" Wallace grinned. "You know I'm going to be ready"

He was a baller, who had every girl's attention this year, and she had to admit, he was great looking, and there was enough gossip and adoring sighs about Neptune High to prove it.

"Good luck tonight Wally, I'll be cheering for you" Natalie smiled, her inviting cleavage and succulent breasts rose with each breath she took, blushing as she stood in front of him. Her mesmerised green eyes widened, blinking when she noticed she wasn't alone as she had been caught wantonly looking at Veronica's best friend like he was the most delicious looking thing she had ever seen. Reluctantly, she gave them both a shy smile and turned to walk away quickly out of their way. He could have done worse; Natalie had a quirky personality which just endeared her to most people. She was funny and outspoken and a naturally nurturing person. Wallace had a great sense of humour and a spot-on self–knowledge, he knew his place in the heart of Neptune's affluent community… but he only had eyes for the new student in their year. Jackie Cooke.

Madison glared at Veronica as she handed out some of the spirit cookies to the other jocks on the team, purposefully ignored her and handed one to Wallace, pretending she didn't see the petite blond beside him, it made Veronica want to throat-punch her, but it wasn't long until the air pulsated, like it was charged. She didn't need to know that it was because she was now under the gaze of a hot troubled playboy.

 _Logan…_

The memory of his body pressed against hers last night flooded through her, it was sexy and steamy, the ghost of that hot, dirty mouth. It shook her to the core how possessive and dominant he was at times. The boy took stalking to a whole new, sexy as fuck level. His chiselled abs, irresistible smirk, and brown eyes are too perfect to be real. He may have been in high school but he was far from an inexperienced boy. Oh no, this jackass was a shameless dirty talker that could have you biting your lip and fisting your bedsheets trying not to scream his name.

She had managed to avoid seeing Duncan most of the day, but she'd seen Logan staring at her… off the rails panty wetting hot stares that stripped her naked.

 _What the hell did he want? Secret meetings? Sleepovers? Texting things?_

He was standing at the other end of the hall, his gaze moving along her body but she could feel him like his hot breath was on her neck, like he was wrapped around her. They were hot together with intense chemistry. He made her ovaries feel like they were going to freaking explode, on the drive home last night… she had practically been salivating for more and didn't want it to end.

Shaking herself out of the moment, she brought her focus back to whatever catty drivel Madison told her. Wealthy privileged high school seniors, were loud and disrespectful making her hate this school even more and counting down the days to graduation. It was hard not to be resentful since before her dad's book deal proceeds started rolling in, and he had been able to take more cases, the Mars family were barely scrapping by.

 _Hot fucking damn…_

She was putting up a feeble resistance, but Logan could swear he'd seen the exact moment that she became aware of him when she had returned from her lunch off campus.

Duncan was the calmer and more responsible one, he was confident and mature but he didn't belong kissing that sassy mouth or curling her attractive body against his. Whereas Logan was a mess, trying to figure out his own crap-usually over whiskey Cokes-and the injustice of this whole situation was getting old.

 _What the hell was she doing? Desire and duty could rival each other… was she going to stay with Duncan out of a sense of duty?_

She still refused to give him the time of day and he felt like he was going to lose his fucking mind. Of course, the two of them had fallen for each other and he wanted wrangle out their issues, cuss, and have lots and lots of that sex he kept dreaming about.

 _Damn her…_

God he wanted to say something, to corner her again, to just climb onto the bleachers like that scene in 10 things I hate about you and declare his intentions for her, to challenge Duncan to an old fashioned duel. Sure he had his own insecurities but she selfishly kept running hot and cold with him... it was borderline atrocious. When he thought about his future beyond ankle monitors and college… she was the only thing he wanted in it and that certainty scared the shit out of him.

It was after school in the Navigator Office when Veronica finally tracked down her boyfriend, Duncan Kane. As the editor of their high school newspaper, there were several times a month that he had to stay late to work with the Junior and Freshmen journalism classes to show them the ropes. It was also, the perfect opportunity to get him alone, on neutral ground without too many witnesses and plenty of exit options for when this conversation eventually went south in the only way that it could.

"Hey" he smiled, his blue eyes widening in surprise as she approached him at his desk, but she didn't smile back, she just shifted uncomfortably. Staying friends with your ex post break-up is a terrible idea, she might be able to salvage a friendship from the wreckage some time down the line, but she knew Duncan would need time apart from the source of his hurt.

 _Away from her…_

She had thought about stiffening her upper lip and just continuing on as before but love ebbs and flows it was not a one-time only experience. She could fall back in love with Duncan given time, she could reclaim those parts of herself as she allowed her fury to cool, allowed herself to heal from Lilly's loss... finally. But she knew after Logan had broken through the control she clung to so tightly that he would never stop his Phantom of the Opera antics… he would never let her forget him.

If she searched his bedroom… she was sure that she would find Duncan shaped Voodoo Dolls and possibly a crazy-ass murderer wall. There was no denying that on occasionally she noticed he was beyond mentally imbalanced, he could be a lunatic… and what they shared was not normal… it was crazy… crazy good.

Sleeping with anyone when you're newly heartbroken is not a great idea, she'd known that but she'd made that mistake, over and over again with the man in front of her. Time didn't mean getting naked together made her feel any better. He was smart and funny and kind and dressed really well, but there was something missing and she knew it. At first she was excited because they had so much in common. It wasn't that bad and they still had fun together.

'I love you but bye' seemed a little too harsh but she couldn't help but notice their relationship roles had changed from this time last year… she had moved from being the rejected to the rejecter. The only comforting thing was that she knew she didn't have to worry about the Wrath of Kane after their break up. He wasn't the kind to seek out revenge, she wouldn't have to worry about him spray painting her car, he wouldn't bad mouth her on social media, or angry embarrassing messages on billboards over the highway and leaving him hurt because it mattered.

He was still her first love, saying goodbye to Duncan was like saying goodbye to Lilly completely.

She had been searching for that connection she felt when she was with Logan in another person… that sizzling thing that filled the air between them… and she hadn't been able to find it. She could search for that loss in everyone else… but it would never be found. Moving on was more important that projecting the fantasy of what a relationship could be. She wanted to finally let it all out, to just admit it to herself… that she wasn't as strong as she had been before. She wanted him. She craved him… she loved him.

 _Game over… Thanks for playing... Don't disrupt the Universe's plan…_

"What's going on?" Duncan asked, his brows furrowing together in confusion.

 _Fuck… why couldn't she just have ghosted him? Oh yeah… it's kind of hard to Ghost your ex when you go to high school together and you share almost 60% of his classes because you both chose the syllabus together for this semester._

What the hell was she going to say?

Dang Boy, are you my homework? Because I really don't want to do you anymore?

Or Sorry Sweetie… but every time you screw me I'm wishing I was in the other room with your best friend?

Or simply… Babe! Welcome to Dumps-ville… population- you!

The lines from her drama studies class was coming to her right now from the Le Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory, where Sir Lancelot is the subject of Elaine of Astolat's affection, but he's already engaged in a hot forbidden love thing going on with Lady Guinevere.

"Why should I leave such thoughts? Am I not an earthly woman? And all the while the breath is in my body I may complain me, for my belief is that I do none offence, though I love an earthly man…"

Poor Elaine nursed Sir Lancelot back to health, confessed her feelings to him but he tried to pay her off to go away and marry someone else. She died of heartbreak. Veronica was sure that Duncan wouldn't die of heartbreak… but the world hid its head in the sands of convention, so that by seeing nothing it might avoid Truth.

Another stupid quote… from The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall. She blamed Logan for all these little random bits of literary information. He constantly changed his voicemail with a new one every day and for some reason, they seemed to accumulate in her head. Some of them were so obscure that she had to go hunting through the books in Mr Daniels shelves just to find the source. It had been a personal quirk he'd picked up from his numerous detentions in Junior year when he'd get caught skipping English class so he could make out in his car with Lilly.

She wanted to find out whoever had damaged her, had made her unable to love without this heart stopping panic. She was a total mess in Logan's presence.

Duncan couldn't save her from herself. She knew that now.

Logan wasn't angry with her, he was in pain. Pain that she had put them both in, pain that had wrapped itself around them both until the weight of it was going to suffocate them if someone didn't do something to end the madness…

"I can't do this anymore Duncan" she confessed softly, her blue eyes cast down at the floor, her cheeks were burning. She couldn't meet his eyes, she heard his cracking knuckles as his hands balled into fists at his sides, a small tick working at the side of his clenched jaw. "I loved you… I loved her, and I miss her so much… but we aren't working" Veronica told him, her gaze finally meeting his.

He barely reacted, he didn't move, his body just kind of sighed and he pursed his lips together and looked behind her.

"Are we over?" he asked quietly and she felt a tear fall from her eyes as she nodded.

Fuck she felt like something wretched and the guilt filled itself in the pit of her stomach.

"It's Him, isn't it?" he demanded but she didn't answer. She couldn't. She wasn't sure if given time that she could have fall back in love with him again, he hadn't changed. The same qualities that had drawn her to him in the first place were still there… she was the one who was different. Her experiences, the loss of him from her life last year, the bullying at school, almost dying… having to stand on her own after everything that she had been through had moulded her into something new.

She didn't know if this new version of her was incapable of loving him.

"It's bigger than that… I have no idea who I am anymore" she answered honestly.

"It's not you it's me? Really? You want me to be angry Veronica? You want me to throw a tantrum like him? Well guess what? I won't… I just want to take care of you… I love you… I can make him leave if that's what you need…" he declared.

"I don't need you to take care of me… I take care of myself Duncan" she sighed.

"You need someone to take care of you… everybody does" he replied. "If you want him gone…"

"We needed each other last year… and you knew… and even though you thought I was your sister… you weren't there… I was alone, and part of me hated you for it" she admitted. "I tried, but I'm sorry, I failed. This is really hard… and maybe I just needed some time, but I can't pretend anymore"

"You think he's in love with you? He isn't" Duncan told her firmly. "This is just some obsession he's having right now. He's so damaged… He's got you on a pedestal… and I don't want to see how much he's going to hurt you, he always hurts you."

When she met Duncan, the one thing she always knew she could count on from him was honesty… until the day she had discovered that he'd kept something vital away from her. The thing that had broken her heart when she'd begged him to explain why they couldn't be together before Lilly was murdered. The investigation and her father's removal from office had made it almost impossible to reconcile afterwards.

"You are going to have to keep giving him so many chances… and he's not worth it" Duncan sighed.

"He's your friend!" Veronica protested but his reaction quickly silenced her.

"Exactly! I know exactly how he operates Veronica… he treats girls like he's slapped his name on your ass but that doesn't stop him fucking around" Duncan implored, his blue eyes looking at her like he was trying to mentally transfer his mansplaination. "You aren't like the women he uses."

Duncan would know Logan's whoring drunken layabout ways better than anyone. He'd been his wingman for years… it didn't stop the words from hurting.

Veronica felt exhausted, the last few days, between the latest cases keeping her dad out until odd hours, her long shifts at Java the Hut, and the arguments with Logan and her break up with Duncan… she was tired. She just wanted to take a break from her own brain, her own heart… heck her own Life for a little while.

"I promised Wallace I'd be there to cheer him on" she told him, hinting at the Pam High students showing up at the end of the corridor for impending Basketball match. They regarded each other awkwardly, her arms folded across her chest as she looked at the differing shades of blue on his shirt, wishing it was the horizon down at the beach so she could have some distance, some space to herself to bury her feet in the cool sand.

"Has **he** taken my seat?" Duncan asked coldly.

 _He… Logan…._

Veronica shook her head again.

"No"

He looked away from her again, grinding his teeth and glancing briefly over his shoulder at a young freshmen call Sandra who was asking if he still wanted her to go to the game and take photographs, he nodded and looked back at Veronica briefly before he shrugged his shoulders and walked back into his tutorial class without another word. She didn't know where this would leave things with Logan and Duncan… she didn't know what kind of hassle this was going to cause and she still had to find out exactly what Weevil and the PCHers were up to. She'd let that investigation get side tracked in all of this craziness for too long.

Just because she had broken up with Duncan, did not mean she was getting back together with Logan… part of her couldn't let him go. She cared about him. Loved him… and if her being with Duncan was hurting him… then she would do what she could to protect his heart.

 _But she had to look after her own as well, and there was nothing more risky to hers than Logan Echolls…_


	18. Chapter 18

It wasn't a fixation. Logan was certain of that, no, this thing he felt for Veronica was deeper than that, although it did make him feel borderline crazy. So did the fact that she had avoided him all day after their kiss last night, maybe that's why he found himself at the liquor store on Oakhill Street after he'd said goodbye to Dick who was off supporting his bitch of a girlfriend Madison Sinclair as she cheered for the Neptune Pirates at the basketball game tonight against Pam High.

Honestly, sometimes he wished he could just crawl inside that beautiful Sherlockian mind of hers and see what exactly went on in there. He was pretty sure that she thought he was no more than a hard-partying, man-whore. She misjudged him, just like people did with All-American, fresh-faced, lovely Dick who came off as the fun loving, quick to smile, anything for a good time party boy. It's easy to write them off as shallow and elitist trust fund kinds, but they would be wrong. He wasn't giving up though, he wanted her, and Veronica was going to have to realise that giving up was not in his dictionary. She had sass for days and wasn't afraid to put him in his place. Constantly. He loved how hard she made him work for it. He just wished she wasn't doing it to him now.

He knew how their individual jagged pieces somehow fit together so effortlessly into something so beautiful and poignant. He felt it every time he looked into those artic blue eyes and felt that warmth run through his veins. There were things about him no one knew, even his best friends, that have shaped him into the man he was. His bad habits were all there for a reason, almost a grown man, Logan had nearly everything he could ever want. Everything except Veronica Mars, the only woman he has ever truly wanted.

He just wanted her to have as much faith in the two of them together as he had. For her to trust him again, but he'd screwed that up when he had hidden things from her, when he'd lied to her.

He'd been stupid, he knew that now.

Sure he was all over her with his inappropriate comments, his sexual innuendos and general shitty behaviour was a defence mechanism related to his fear of rejection. His fear of loss and abandonment after what his mother had done only 10 short months ago, he was broken in his own way. He'd played pretend for too long with his friends and family. He let everyone think he was an asshole… although he was nothing like the sociopath that his father was… deep down he just wanted someone who wouldn't shut him out, who wouldn't screw him over, who wouldn't leave him. They'd been floating around one another's orbit for years, but he'd always loved her, even when he thought he'd hated her. It was always going to be them, and she fucking knew it too.

She was not a delicate flower that was going to wilt at any moment. She was strong, she had dreams, and she craved independence and freedom. She didn't need him, there was nothing he could offer her, and it terrified him. He was just a man she loathed as much as she loved.

Their story was not a neat and tidy. It was messy, it was raw, but fuck, it was _real_. The most real thing that he'd ever found.

If he could let go of the hope, then maybe he could let go instead of yearning for one more try?

Kendall had texted him earlier asking him if he wanted another nightcap.

He doubted it, because so far he hadn't been able to move away from the street busker playing a very throaty version of Kaleo's song "I can't go on without you"

 _Where am I supposed to wait for you sweetheart?_

Facing Duncan right now was still too much so he headed for the Mexican restaurant on the corner to get himself a burrito to eat in his car.

Fuck his diet was terrible these days… it was starting to show in his athletic progress, Coach Sanders had been on his case again. Like he gave a shit, it wasn't like he needed a scholarship, and he hadn't even looked at any College applications, the Neptune High faculty could go screw themselves for all he cared.

Veronica was planning on attending Stanford, and if he didn't get lucky with disproving the fact that this Dr Tom Griffith was a lying son of a bitch… then he'd be looking at 25 to life right alongside Dear Old Dad. His head kept trying to convince his heart to leave her alone, but both know it was a damn lie… he wouldn't be doing that. Not now he knew that she loved him. Not after he'd kissed those soft velvety lips again.

"You are such a Rascal, Logan" Serena Carnelian cooed as she past him on the street and winked at the brown paper bag with the liquor bottle in his hands. Her slim hips wrapped in a pale blue skirt swaying as she flipped her red hair and looked at him over her shoulder. He'd had a brief fling with her before in junior high when he'd broken up with Lilly for the first time.

 _Okay... so not every woman in Neptune hated his cocky, filthy-mouthed, sexy-as-hell guts. Except there is a problem, a Veronica Mars and her big, blue eyes, sassy mouth, and killer petite curves kind of problem._

"Serena! You're dating Chuck!" Sharon McCreary complained as she gave her friend a playful nudge, looking behind them at Logan.

"What? The guy has abs that would put a Hemsworth to shame!" she retorted in a loud whisper.

"I don't care if he's A+ arm-candy with a bank account that's liable to leave me flat on my back with my panties around my ankles… he's bad news!" Natasha Swartz warned.

"You're only bitter because you broke up with Brent" Luna Garrett exclaimed as she linked arms with the taller blonde girl, consoling her.

"The guy was a fucking cheater, honestly those Hollywood kids pricks think they can get away with anything!" she complained.

"Don't let the bastards get you down." Sharon comforted as she put her arm around the other girls shoulders.

 _Amusing… Luna and Brent had been hooking up in the Janitor's closet since his My Life's Short Party… and I seem to be able to seduce girls I don't want just by existing while the one I do want seems to forget that I do. Figures._

"Whatever, he reminds me of that kid from The Omen but the grown up version" Natasha complained.

Hell… he should really stop drinking so much like Daisy had suggested. Maybe he should think about taking up a pottery course or invest in some pet Llamas or take up a fitness fad, become a Vegan? Heck… maybe he could get himself a job.

No… he should be doing what he'd tried to start ever since he'd been arrested, trying to clear his damn name and beat those murder charges. He wanted to try working with her to do it, he still hadn't been able to ask, his plan to corner her yesterday at school had failed miserably, and ended in some very scandalous public displays of affection.

 _Her lips had tasted of powdered sugar and cappuccino… like some kind of delicious sweetness jolting his body awake…_

Shit. Why couldn't he get the ghost of her from his mouth, his fingertips, his arms? 

Raising an eyebrow he looked at the four valley girls as they walked down the street towards the Neptune Movie House as Serena shot him the usual bedroom eyes.

 _The porn music would swell right about now… soft jazz probably…_

Serena Carnelian, the girl who looked like she had been photo shopped by a group of horny teenagers, youngest daughter of Prosecutor Edwin Nelson-Carnelian. The asshole that had been on the Public Prosecution service during his hearing at the beginning of the summer. Another bored rich girl trying to piss daddy off by using all the wrong guys, as fun as it would be to teach the prick a lesson… he had no appetite for anyone who wasn't a certain little ice-blue eyed blond.

Ignoring them, he turned away from the busker, opening the bag holding his burrito in his hands, perhaps he could go eat it down on the boardwalk near the Neptune Spa and Leisure Complex, a few of the jocks and cheerleaders would be going there later. Drinking in The Mermaid Inn wouldn't be an option tonight, Daisy wouldn't put up with him after his recent carry on, as a spunky and take not crap bartending badass… he knew when not to push her too far because despite the pink car she drove, he liked it when she played nice. She was a card shark, a ball buster and her boyfriend Ginger Geoff at the security desk in the Neptune Grand, was one of the few consistent people left in his life.

She treated him like the annoying little brother she'd sneak beer to at family holidays, she had ever since that night he'd stumbled into her mixed martial arts class trying to look indifferent.

"Why can't you just talk to each other?" she had counselled him a week ago while he'd finally spilled out the entire sordid story over shots of tequila after hours on the boardwalk as they'd waited on the cab for her to go to the Neptune Grand to pick up her boyfriend after work.

"I was cherry-picked especially for her" he sighed, lovesick.

"I am fighting my gag reflex right now" Daisy had groaned before punching him on the shoulder.

"Not the first time you've said that" he'd grinned back although he'd noted her don't-bullshit-me tone.

"You are the weirdest landlord I have ever met" she'd said as she quirked an eyebrow. He'd bought Eli Navarro's grandmothers house a few weeks ago and kicked them out, she was perfect tenant to rent the space, intelligent, witty and tenacious and full of life. Her metal and punk surly manner was an acquired taste, but he liked her even if he did think her boyfriend was bit of a jackass who flirted too much with the receptionist Nina.

Hunting for his keys Logan looked up to see a white van parked at the rear of his car, blocking him in.

 _Are you fucking kidding me?_

Looking at the back of his car to see if there was room for him to pull away.

 _Fuck… fuck… fuck…_

He gritted his teeth, someone was crouched beside the driver's side of his vehicle…

 _If they'd grazed his god damned car…_

"Hey… Move your piece of crap out of my—" he snarled as he walked around the white van before pain exploded in his temple, the bag he was carrying fell to the floor and the liquor bottle broke and the world went black.

 _This can't happen... I can't sink into the black… I have to… stay… aw-_

But it was too late; the hooded figures grabbed him by the wrists and ankles and threw him into the back of the van.


	19. Chapter 19

Is off-the-charts chemistry enough of a reason to get involved in an endless self-destructive cycle? Veronica could almost imagine how the little game of cat and mouse would go… Logan was a notoriously secretive, almost compulsive liar, it was basically his first instinct when it came to trouble, and she was the daughter of a private detective, a teenage sleuth with all the trappings minus passing the exam. It was a formula for flirting with disaster. A complicated, beautiful disaster.

High school was a confusing time, but now the sex bug has been planted they had begun to look at each other differently. Constantly telling people they were just friends, but even their closest buddies think there should be more to their relationship.

 _On a scale of 1 – 10… she was 13… fairly sure she was in need of some serious therapy._

What ate at her most was she had no idea how to go forward; she tried to shake it off. There's no denying that she had made some pretty epic errors last year, her trust and anger issues had almost killed their fledgling relationship when she'd had him arrested for Lilly's murder.

He'd forgiven her… despite everything she'd put him through. She'd accused him of rape… through a grenade at his life when she'd had his dad arrested for killing his ex-girlfriend. Gotten him jumped on the bridge because she hadn't thought to call Weevil off when she'd known he overheard her phone call with her dad… and what did she do?

 _She broke both of their hearts…_

Logan was the love that she pushed away, and still he wanted to put himself in the same position to risk getting hurt again? She couldn't understand why he would want to put his heart on the line again. Knowing what he did, she wasn't sure if he was salvageable for her.

 _He set that fire… he could have **killed** someone…_

He'd wanted to explain, but she hadn't really listened. Honestly, who can blame her?

 _He made a mistake… hadn't **she** made even worse mistakes?_

A second chance at love with a messed up jerk, and she was a jerk. She'd been so stupid… A relationship is built and destroyed and rebuilt again on more than words. It takes love, anger, forgiveness and happiness.

 _Would they be able to forgive each other again?_

She was a force to be reckoned with, she was fine by herself. Duncan gave Logan something he desperately needed, a friend.

 _Why was she even thinking about tracking him down at all when she'd been resolved to leave the Bros to get over her?_

"There is nothing that cools down my insides better than a big bowl of ice-cream" Wallace grinned as he dried his hair with a towel and stood in the corridor.

"Already on it… Amy's?" Veronica smiled.

"That the new place over on Hampton Street?" Wallace asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah.. and I think we can smuggle in our own cherries" she nodded.

"This is why I love you Supafly… you always get me to cross the line" he chuckled.

"I got cheer throat.." she said, sipping a soda from the machine as they headed out of the car park, spending time with her best friend was the best distraction from her reluctance to just give into Logan. She needed to think about how she was going to past the hurt, resentment and miscommunications and his determination to pursue her rocked her to her very core.

 _He'd wanted her help…_

Messed up with skills of deduction? Check. Screwed up own love life? Check. Fighting the mental urge to climb outside herself to slap and knock sense into them both? Check.

It was emotional warfare and at times, she truly hated Logan for all that he was and sometimes, still is. Life had thrown them so many harsh curveballs and ultimately she was gluing the broken pieces of herself back together once again. The harsh reality of heart-ache and loss at 16 had changed her into a realist, a realist who couldn't help but admit to herself that she was having a hard time keeping her distance and saying no to the seductive charmer.

She had just finished scooping up the ice-cream on the bottom of her milkshake glass with her straw/spoon and listening to Wallace explain the intricate details of the locker room politics of why two of the usual players weren't on the court tonight. As usual it involved the musical chairs routine of some pretty cheerleader deciding to date a different jock and the chaos that surrounds the testosterone driven world of male sports.

 _Oh the delicate male Ego's…_

She was only grateful that the soccer team never had these dilemmas and that Logan was on the track team so she could avoid this kind of public humiliation for a while. The way the 09er girls had treated her in the locker room after that fight Duncan had with Logan in their FBLA class was already enough to have her double locking her stuff and keeping a small change of clothes hidden in the air vents behind the shower room.

 _Paranoia didn't always suck…_

"Well I think you can rule out wondering if she likes you… Jackie couldn't keep her eyes off you tonight" Veronica assured him.

"Was she watching me or was she just like stealing glances at me?" he asked.

"More like… intently staring" she smiled.

Her phone started to ring and she frowned, she'd already spoken to her dad before she left the game, he was having dinner with Wallace's mother Alicia tonight, the two of them were doing the awkward pre-step siblings bonding thing and giving their parents some space while Wallace's younger brother Darrel stayed over for a birthday party at a friend's house.

"Something wrong?" Wallace asked, popping a cherry into his mouth and crinkling up his eyebrows.

Tightening her lips, Veronica showed him the caller display screen. Frowning she wondered why he was ringing her.

 _Duncan Kane…_

"Do you want me to answer?" Wallace offered.

"No… it's okay, but I am not talking about it anymore… I already told him we were over" she sighed.

Was she going to end up with two crazy ex-boyfriends now?

 _Huh.. maybe they were comparing notes and Logan had gotten him drunk now he was calling to tell her what a bitch she was…._

"Mars speaking… for an out of this world time… please do call someone else" she answered.

"Is he with you?" the voice on the phone demanded.

"Who?" she asked.

"Logan… He's not home. Deputy Sacks is here to talk to him about a parking violation… they want him down at the station" Duncan explained.

"Can't they just trace his ankle monitor?" Veronica sighed as she picked up the chocolate and raspberry sauce on the table and squeezed it into her melting ice-cream.

 _Dealing with the both of them was the last thing she wanted to do tonight._

"It's been removed" Duncan told her simply. "Is he with you or not?" he growled again.

"No… what do you mean it's been rem-" she began before she was cut off.

"Bye Veronica"

The line went dead.

 _His monitor was removed? It didn't make any sense…_

 _Where the hell was Logan?_

Okay... so I'm needing a change of pace. This one is getting a little heavy... I'm going to go to some of the other stories i've been neglecting, but i'm gonna leave it up for a bit of a pole, if theres one in particular you want me to work on... pop me a PM and leave me a suggestion.


	20. Chapter 20

"You going after him?" Wallace said, folding his arms as he leaned against the door frame in her dad's office of the Mars Investigations office as Veronica hunted through the filing cabinets for her father's latest piece of tech gadgetry. A cell phone GPS tracker… of course she was going to just have to hope that Mr Echolls had kept his number the same or that he was using one of the multiple numbers registered to his old house if he'd decided to change it after the press had been calling for a quote after the fire at the Echolls estate and his recent murder charges.

 _Please Logan… of all the times I need you to be your usual irresponsible reckless lazy self…_

"Not going after… more like locating. Once I know he's just off being his usual drunken asshole self, then I can relax and go back to nursing my brain freeze" she sighed as she finally located the brick size object. Of course, it was going to be useless unless she had the correct number… or if he even had the GPS turned on.

 _Why the hell would he risk prison time by removing his ankle monitor? What the hell was he thinking? Something didn't add up… he loved that stupid Look-at-me yellow monstrosity of his. Why would it have been left abandoned outside a Snack-er-Eatza Pizzeria?_

"You sure you shouldn't be notifying border patrol? Or the coast guard?" Wallace suggested. "He does still have his dad's boat right?"

"No… Logan sold it to Lance Methos at the end of the summer as a screw you to his dad" Veronica replied shaking her head. Not that it didn't mean he couldn't borrow one. The Casablanca's brothers didn't have a yacht anymore after their dad had fled the country and it was confiscated by the IRS and some real estate fraud investigators. Dick and Cassidy were very lucky that their main residence was actually still in their mother's maiden name or it would have been seized also.

"None of this should be your problem, you do know that?" he sighed as his dark black eyes glared at her like he was trying to burn some sense into her brain.

"Everything in Neptune is my problem… call it curiosity" she replied tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear and sitting down to open her laptop.

"Yeah well you already used up three of those 9 lives… so you better get smarter or you could end up in an orange jumpsuit right alongside him" Wallace warned.

"Oh shoot… but that won't match my pedicure at all!" she grinned.

"Can we just focus on finding your douchebag of an ex-boyfriend that I barely knew you dated?" he retorted. Wallace had still been feeling a little sore that she hadn't told him when she'd started dating Logan last year, but truthfully, she hadn't told anyone. Not until the day she'd shown up on his door step with her heartbroken and crying over what had happened at Shelley's party when she finally cracked and let it all come spilling out.

He was her best friend, and if her father's relationship with his mother continued like it had, possibly her step-brother.

"I need his phone number.." she said, picking up the office phone to dial out one of the numbers on the screen.

"Hi this is Trina… Busy working it on my good side, sorry I can't take your call right now but I will give you a call back soon!" Logan's sisters voice announced cheerily.

 _Nope…_

"This number is no longer in service…"

 _Nope… try again…_

"Hi this is Logan… unfortunately you get no daily quote on this number so you fame hungry paparazzi vultures can kiss my ass!"

 _Definitely nope…._

"Hello? Hello? Oh I'm sorry.. that was the sound of me not caring… try again.. or don't" Logan's drunken voice answered before the voicemail tone sounded.

"Dammit!" she muttered in frustration, putting the phone down again.

 _Maybe he was in her phone call history logs? When was the last time he had drunkenly dialled her old number to call her a bitch?_

"So much for just curiosity" Wallace observed, arching an eyebrow.

"This man…he ruins me. Every word. Every look. Every touch… he isn't even here and it's like he's living rent free in my head" she sighed, logging into her previous number to try and check the voicemail inbox.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

"Logan's phone number" she told him quietly.

Up until he had moved in with Duncan, she'd had his phone number, but after he became roommates with her boyfriend… she had decided to remove the temptation to call him and yell at him for being a jackass.

 _No number=no opportunity. So much for putting Logan in the rear-view mirror._

"Please God tell me I don't have to talk to Dick Casablanca's to get Logan's phone number" she groaned, most of the cheerleaders and jocks were down near the boardwalk for a beach party tonight. Dealing with Dick meant having to deal with 'My drink is cold even though I requested light Ice' Madison Sinclair.

"I think I could get it" Wallace declared, getting his cell phone from out of his pocket.

"How?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"There's a chance that Natalie might have left her number folded inside my locker after the game" he admitted.

"Cheerleader… have a great game, bambi eyes, Natalie?" Veronica quizzed.

"Don't look at me like that… You know I still like Jackie… but if a girl wants to give me her number, then it's rude not to say hello!" Wallace said feigning innocence.

"Of course… you and your pleasantries. Public service really.." she smiled.

"The Fennel men make a point of sacrificing themselves in certain ways… if my innocent flirting with Natalie helps keep the other Cheerasaurus's away from me until the end of the school year, then it's a sacrifice I'm going to have to make... besides. My friend Andrew from math kind of likes her, I figured I'd put in a good word…" he told her shyly. Wallace may have been a great looking guy, but he was totally unaware of his charisma, he wasn't a player like most of the Neptune High jocks, he was sweet, and it's what she loved about him.

She would actually use the term Gush to describe him sometimes the way he loved to get all Gilmore Girls on her at lunch when he talked to her about Jackie and his latest interactions with her.

"Do you think she will have his number?" Veronica asked. "It's not like I can get it from Duncan now…"

 _Although maybe Mac could hack Duncan's call logs? Sure Veronica… put a friend up against a Tech Mogul Empire… nope. Dumb Idea._

Passing out his number to pretty cheerleaders wouldn't exactly be out of character for Logan, but he'd been extra careful since a sophomore Laurell Winchester had passed his last one off to a reporter from Channel 10.

"No, but she's most likely with Kimmy and Brent Shen. Chances are if she is that I could get it from Brent" Wallace said as he fired off a text. "Now we wait"

The toing and froing, back and forth between Logan and Veronica was starting to affect her sanity, it had been the most torturous 23 minutes of her life watching Wallace try and get hold of Logan's current phone number.

 _Okay.. maybe not most torturous… the 13 minutes she'd spent in that cramped freezer listening to Aaron Echolls screaming at her to tell him where the tapes were was definitely worse than this…_

"I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how much that I adore you for helping me with this even though you clearly think I'm losing my sanity" Veronica said gratefully as she took the post-it he'd written the number on that he gave her and handed it to her.

"I decided to take this particular journey with you and now our parents are dating... I need to get all the dirt on you I can for when I need to score me an alibi for all my romancing" he grinned. "Besides, despite your misguided intentions.. I trust your gut Mars… if you are worried. So am I" he assured her.

"Well, I give you fair warning the drama is palpable and long-winded at times" she said, entering the phone numbers and lifting it to her ear.

"Hello Neptune Balboa County Sheriff's Department" Deputy Leo D'Amato's voice answered.

"Leo?" Veronica asked.

 _His phone must be getting ready for Evidence processing… Fuck…_

"Hey Leo, it's Veronica. I take it there isn't much chance that Logan is around?" she asked quietly.

"Veronica… Veronica… 5 ft 2… blond… brings me pizza?" he asked.

"I won't if you don't answer" she retorted impatiently.

"Sorry, no, I'm just processing the items found at an abandoned vehicle. The phone was in the glove compartment. Prepaid disposable" Leo explained.

"Abandoned, so there's still no sign of him?" she asked, the worrying knot in the put of her stomach had just threaded itself all the way up to a lump in her throat.

"I'm afraid not" he replied softly.

Her ex-boyfriend Leo had been the one to arrest Logan the night he'd shown up broken and bleeding on her doorstep a few hours after she'd gotten home from the hospital where her dad had been in the burns unit.

 _Hell Night…_

She'd almost been murdered by Aaron Echolls, her dad almost got himself killed, Felix Toomes had been stabbed and Logan had been almost beaten to death.

"Can you call me if there's any news? Please?" she asked.

"Sure, be safe Veronica" he replied before the call disconnected.

"Anything?" Wallace asked, slouching back into the couch in her dad's office.

"No, the number belongs to a disposable cell found in Logan's abandoned car" Veronica replied.

"We can't stay out much longer, I promised my mom we'd be back home after Ice-cream" Wallace told her.

"Can you stall?" she asked.

"And say what?" he scoffed.

"That you were spending time with a cute brunette cheerleader?" Veronica suggested.

"You ever think your relationships are brutally complicated at times?" he said raising an eyebrow.

"You mean between the almost Flowers in the Attic affair I had with my not-half-brother or the on and off again enemies to lovers romance with my dead best friends ex?" she questioned.

"See? Who needs tella-novellas when I got you?" he replied sarcastically.

"You know my life is a story of fight with passion and heart. Addictive, unstoppable and absolutely superb if you don't count the high body count and potential felonies" Veronica retorted, leaning her head against her hands.

 _What the hell was she going to do now?_

She was trying to stifle the anger and every myriad of emotions that were rolling around in her stomach threatening to make her lose her stomach contents. It might have helped had she eaten something more than a single pop tart at lunch and a large bowl of ice-cream.

"Can't you just work on being tedious? At least until the end of the school year? A few boring in parts in the story, with no drama?" he sighed.

"After what happened to Meg and those other kids on the school bus? I can't" Veronica told him solemnly. A silent communication moved between them, that bus crash had almost claimed her life, she had found evidence of a deliberate sabotage on one of the voicemails left by one of the dead students, it was personal.

"No nonsense, straight forward and feisty Supafly… just don't let this come back the wrong way. Lamb would do whatever he could to point the finger at you. I'm surprised he hasn't had you hauled down to the station to be asked if you helped Logan skip the country" Wallace told her.

"His parents are Hollywood superstars, Logan's been all over the press and the news... he wouldn't be able to get over the border" Veronica reasoned.

 _Logan couldn't have run… he'd never get very far… he was no Duncan. Growing up in the limelight on the red carpet it seemed did have its disadvantages if one wanted to lay low._

"So if he wasn't going to run, what is the alternative?" Wallace thought out loud.

A cold shiver ran through her. Her suspicions about feeling like the PCHers were circling around Logan, that they were planning something…

"Maybe he was chased?" Wallace added absentmindedly.

"No, He was taken" Veronica said, the very thought of it made her feel sick.

What the hell was Weevil up to?


	21. Chapter 21

Keith Mars glanced at the clock in the small kitchen of the small apartment that he shared with his only daughter Veronica. It was an indeterminate time since he had returned home after the call from his friend Cliff McCormack, Logan Echolls was missing and he had been looking for advice on how to locate his young client. His daughter's ex-boyfriend and the son of the man who had tried to kill her. He'd gone to his office to find his GPS locater but it was missing from the packaging, and there had been clear evidence that Veronica and Wallace had been in the office.

Running a hand over his head he felt confusion, frustration and anger too. There were times that he truly felt like he had failed as a parent. The last two years of his beautiful daughter's life had been love, pain, heartache, and tragedy.

He really wished that his daughter could just break free from whatever force enthralled his child to **_That Boy_**.

Both teens were flawed and slightly dysfunctional recognising the damage in each other after the death of Lilly Kane and they were drawn to each other in a way that scared him. Two very broken young adults brought together by undeniable chemistry that forged an unbreakable bond culminating in the arrest of Aaron Echolls, but their relationship was doomed from the start, it was tough-to-hold-on-to, they were so young.

 _Aaron Echolls… Some men are born with a black heart and a tainted soul._

Discussing Logan with his daughter was a sensitive subject, ever since the night he'd thrown the boy from their apartment, she had refused to discuss him or the issues again, Keith couldn't understand their dynamic and what had happened with both of them.

The boy worried him, he wasn't going to lie. He was unable to control his impulses and he lashed out on anyone around him, even though he'd witnessed that he was occasional very sweet with his daughter. Every time the two of their gazes crossed it was like there was an invisible thread linking them together and it really irked Keith.

 _It was the look in his eyes when he glanced at Veronica that raised the heckles on the back of his neck... It always said the same thing… MINE…_

Keith didn't know Veronica's thought's on it, did they find each other healing? She was insistent that he was innocent of the murder of his classmate. He could be incredibly likable but there was no escaping that he was deeply damaged driven by his personal demons.

 _It wasn't the most well thought out romance…_

There was so much about her he didn't know anymore, she'd become guarded since the death of her friend, her life mission had been driven from pure revenge to get justice. He'd barely been able to be around for her since starting his business and losing his job as Sheriff, his wife's disappearance had put Mars family life into a tailspin.

He'd fired Veronica so that she could try and reclaim some kind of normalcy, especially after her investigation had almost resulted in her death. Rubbing his temples he mentally drafted a serious father daughter discussion he was planning to have with her about this dark, gritty and dysfunctional teenage love story of hers. Keith was back in that black hole of guilt.

 _Was Logan trying to run? Oh God… was she helping him?_

"Veronica, Honey, call Home… just checking in to see where you are" he sighed before hanging up again.

Dealing with raising a teenage daughter sometimes felt a lot like watching an episode of a TV show without knowing what was actually going on. She was almost obsessed with him despite his animosity and he was a total stalker creeper that fired up every fatherly instinct in him. Keith had heard reports during his time as Sheriff from Lilly Kane's classmates about his jealous rages, his possessiveness. He could understand the boy more than he wanted to, Veronica haunted his dreams, his thoughts, his heart, but the possessive tendencies Logan had concerned him the most.

He received a text message from Alicia, her son Wallace had returned home, but Veronica wasn't with him. Glancing around the Private Investigations office, he tried to think of how many tricks of the trade his brilliant daughter could have been passing onto the Fugitive Mr Echolls, and without the GPS tracker, he had no way to look for her.

 _What are you doing Veronica?_


	22. Chapter 22

The stakes of these little war games were getting too high, too fast and Veronica could only sigh as she tortured herself wondering how the hell it was that she had become stuck between two men intent on destroying one another. She wasn't supposed to be getting involved in this, she wasn't supposed to be trying to play peacemaker… all she wanted was normal life without too many complications.

Weevil and Logan were complicated, handsome former collaborators and current rivals, both of them shared a dead ex-girlfriend, Lilly Kane, and both had been on that bridge the night that Felix Toomes died, both unable to remember exactly how he died.

 _Better have a fire extinguisher for those smouldering panties Veronica…_ she could almost hear her dead best friends quips even now.

Logan and Weevil were determined to fight out their personal vendettas and power plays, Veronica knew Weevil was a good guy but she also carried the knowledge that he could be a dangerous man. Weevil was known to everyone in the neighbourhood she currently drove down - he's feared and only spoken about in whispers at Neptune High. A hot, tatted, leather jacket wearing, brooding, dirty talking anti-hero.

Truths could be uncomfortable, he was still the leader of a motorcycle gang, and occasionally she felt like she was making a bargain with the devil when she spoke to him. He was hot, funny, cocky, a little bit crass, but had a good heart and he was deceptively intelligent. They even had something akin to a tentative friendship.

 _If I only I could be a selfish bitch, I'd let Logan go and detonate the way he's determined to do now._

In an ideal world, she wouldn't do entanglements, but there was something about him that drew her and one thing was stark clear, she would run away screaming and never look back if he didn't wield such a profound power over her. One taste would never be enough to satiate this need. Weevil would offer to take care of that pesky little problem for her, which is why she was so desperate to find Logan.

 _I should go home…_

Another missed call from her father, she turned the sound down on her phone.

 _Every instinct I have is prodding me to run… How the hell does Logan get me like this? Especially when he's pinning me in place with those dark, espresso-coloured eyes._ _I've had three long years of practice shutting down his every advance. He's a senior, and I only have to deal with him for one more year, I've vowed to keep repeating the same set of rules to myself. We don't have to be close. We don't have to be best friends._ _I've been fine without him. I haven't missed his cruelty, his coldness and his spite._

 _And after the ugliest breakup in the history of breakups, I forced myself to move on._

Weevil's motorcycle was missing from outside his new apartment. He'd avoided her calls… he never avoided her calls.

 _Ding, ding, ding… nailed it._

 _The PCHers were getting dirty tonight._

 _Please Weevil... don't pull a complete douchebag move and hurt Logan…_

Every detail of her observations of the PCHers over the last few months had been noted, recorded and filed away inside her brain. She was running through the mental list of usual haunts and gangland incidents that she had been keeping tabs on to see if she could think of somewhere that they would take Logan.

Whatever was going down tonight, it was bad. He hadn't run. She could feel that in her bones.

 _He wouldn't leave without her like that…_

Her mouth twisted and she bit her thumb nail, going through her mental inventory of things she knew about the PCHers, and who amongst them she had helped last year who would be willing to point her in the right direction.

Barricading herself from the pain she couldn't handle, she tried to quell the rising panic. She had come to a violently terrible conclusion… Logan was at risk of not making through the night.

 _Why was there suddenly no air inside her car?_

Something dark was charging the air, and that invisible chord she had always felt, pulling her towards Logan Echolls felt weaker than ever. It frightened her. She wasn't even sure what she was looking for as she surveyed the Google maps of the area where Logan's car had been found, desperate for some kind of insight into what the PCHers would do. Where they would take him… someplace they'd feel confident they were safe, but not too connected to the group members as to arouse suspicion or to lead back to them. Despite their high school test scores, they were not stupid.

Cold calculation was the common glint in the gang members gaze, often she could feel them sizing her up, weighing her, measuring her… assessing her for weaknesses.

 _They wouldn't find any._

Her grounding influence, her father's advice over the dinner table on how to be a great detective filtered through her head.

 _Chase the thoughts that would make you quiver… some people are just born empty, lacking a soul… we aren't like them, those instincts that we would reject, are how they would behave… that's how you know you are going on the right track. You chase the darkness you wouldn't ever go act on in yourself. Because monsters are made in the shadows… you would never know the demon is sitting there staring at you and designing your demise, until it's too late._

She was angry, with Logan, with Weevil, the PCHers and herself. The whole thing felt like a nightmare but she was still awake.

Her mind raced to make the most helpful connections, Brie Larson a sophomore she had helped last year popped into her head. She was arty, nerdy, smart and flew below the social radar but her latest boyfriend was a junior PCH club biker called Matteo Lobos. She was still friendly with Veronica and she worked in a local laundromat nearby, if there was anything going on, she might be able to get it from her.

Francis Hernandez was a filthy-mouthed, womanizing, crude, arrogant prick who earned a living through the exploitation of cheap student labour, poorer income Neptune families who couldn't afford their own washing facilities in their apartment complexes and by dealing in liquor to underage minors, drugs and stolen car parts. He acted as a middle man of sorts, although he left the dirty work, and therefore the risk, up to street kids like Matteo. Brie was only working in the laundromat because it was close to her mother's second job in Raziollios, an American Themed diner, the hours were flexible, and it saved them on childcare costs.

The small store hummed with the sounds of the machines and sounds of tumbling clothes, it smelled oddly of musty dampness and washing detergent, Veronica was slightly disappointed by the lack of perfectly formed male torsos and Adonis's stripping down to their underwear and drinking Diet Cola's. She mentally blamed Logan for the sarcastic thought, he often commented on how the Hollywood version didn't usually matchup to real life. The by-product of being an actors son.

Matteo was a broken soul with a huge chip on his shoulders, smouldering eyes, tattoos, piercings and a hot, ripped body that made you want to lick it all over until your tongue bled. And he was also an absolute ass about absolutely everything except when it came to Brie, thankfully, he wasn't there. Veronica wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

"I don't think Elec is the dating type" Brie laughed with her cousin Arista Bentley as the two of them giggled by the counter.

"No, a typical sulky bad boy but he's the screwing you on the kitchen counter type, and trust me… I've been missing that!" Arista replied in a giggle but she quickly stiffened in that way that she had come to expect from those connected with the PCHers ever since the murder of Felix Toomes, alienation and misplaced loyalties.

"You just want to sit on his dirty face!" Brie retorted, flipping her long, sexy hair and following her cousin's gaze before resting uncomfortably on Veronica.

"Well, isn't all this girl guy talk swoonworthy?" Veronica joked awkwardly. "Personally I'll never understand why girls trip over themselves just to be with him" she offered.

 _Since when did sophomores talk like that?_

"Hi Veronica" Brie smiled politely, giving her a quick inspection, noticing that she didn't have bag of laundry with her before she frowned in confusion.

"Panties are melted when that boy flashes his dimples." Arista joked, easing somewhat when she had a quick glance around the shop that there was no potential trouble.

"You have a pick up?" Brie asked as she moved over to the counter.

"Uh no… do you have change for a $20?" Veronica smiled, handing over a crumpled note.

"Sure" Brie nodded and opened the register. "You want dollar coins or mixed?"

"Mixed please" she replied.

"Well.. Elec will be getting a call from me. A lot of tattoos, pierced lip and a pierced dick?" Arista grinned, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

 _Honestly? This chick was practically a freshmen! Where did they learn this shit?_

"And everything her wet dreams are made of" Brie replied rolling her eyes as she handed Veronica the change apologetically.

It felt like stumbling on the verbal version of a Cosmopolitan magazine by the time Veronica had left the laundromat, it had taken some awkward questions, some comments from Arista that made her want to bleach her brain, she had no idea who Elec was, but she was pretty sure if she ever saw him, she'd blush. Brie owed her a few favours after she had helped her to get proof that a senior from last year, Mitch Costello was stalking her. Sheriff Lamb had been less than useless, but the overwhelming evidence and a well-placed blackmail against a high court judge with issues of loving dressing in adult diapers helped her to secure a convincing enough restraining order to make sure that the sick sociopath backed off and left her alone.

There were a few gatherings of PCHers around town tonight. A beach party crashing over near Nereids Point. An illegal street race up on the high way near the Road Hog and an underground rave in the Neptune Industrial Estate and few quick theft jobs down in the Neptune Docks. Some of the younger members loved to brag about their exploits and prowess… the intelligence was not strong with some of them. Usually those loose lips were beaten off them by the end of sophomore year.

None of it seemed to shout out at her immediately as where they would have taken Logan.

A brief memory poured itself through her body, the lobby of the hotel in Atlanta when he'd just found out about his sister Trina being the one using his mother's missing credit cards. The unrelenting grief that had shaken his body as she'd held him trembling in her arms that night, his fingers digging into her shoulders as he clung to her… if she was too late… who would be the one to hold her?


	23. Chapter 23

Logan could feel the strain in his back and shoulders as he had woken to find himself tied with his arms by his sides, his head throbbing in pain from the earlier blow to his head as the migraine exploded in his temples. It wasn't until he had groggily tried to rub his forehead that he realised that he was restrained, thick cables pinched into the skin around his wrists as he sat on a cold concrete floor.

 _How long had he been out? What the hell was going on?_

He scrambled to piece together the last few bits of memory before he had blacked out. His argument with Veronica the night before, the way she had ignored him today at school as if their kiss had meant nothing. He'd avoided going to the basketball match tonight because he wasn't ready to deal with seeing her and Duncan together so soon after their encounter. He had went to get something to eat to avoid having to go home, he'd been planning on meeting up with Dick when… someone had blocked in his car?

He'd been attacked by someone and thrown into the back of a van, there were bruises all over his body to prove it and there was a stinging ache on his ankle where something sharp had grazed painfully along the skin.

O _h shit… his monitor was gone!_

A chill ran up his back, the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood up. His ankle monitor was gone… no one knew where he was. He tried to force his breathing to relax while he looked around the dark room, it was a garage of some kind… no… a warehouse? Was that sewage he smelled?

As the son of Hollywood royalty, he was pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigned to acknowledge this most of the time. Someone had abducted him… Swallowing down the rising panic, Logan tried his best to calm the erratic heartbeat in threatening to burst through his chest. He had to grit his teeth and conquer it, a false step now could get him killed and he didn't even know what he was dealing with.

 _Okay… think Echolls.. think… what do the characters do in every shit-tastic movie you have ever seen?_

Step One, assess yourself for injuries.

Step Two, figure out if there is an immediate threat.

Step Three, find out where the hell you are.

He wasn't really hurt apart from the ache in his head, he wasn't sure how long he had been out but a preliminary assessment told him that it was late evening, he wasn't overly hungry so it was probably still the same day that he'd been taken.

 _Score one for me… I've only been out a few hours…_

Step Two… well there was no one threatening him with waterboarding or sitting nearby with a surgical table and a bunch of questionably shiny tools to carve him up with, so for now… his captors were probably still trying to figure out what to do with him unaware that he was awake.

Step Three… if he had been out only a few hours, then they couldn't have taken him far. He didn't feel sea sick, the pressure in his ears wasn't too bad so he'd not been on a plane. He could still smell the ocean, so he hadn't left Neptune.

 _He could rule out a prank from Dick… no way he would have removed his monitor, last time he'd been fake kidnapped, he'd woken up tied to a stripper pole for his birthday. No knocks over the head though, and there was a distinct lack of body shot dancers or an open bar._

 _Was this for ransom? Some crazed fans of his fathers?_

 _No… he'd been in that burrito place before he'd been taken. That van…_

The PCHers had done this…

He looked at his wrists, it wasn't cuffs, it was a hard metal wire that was wrapped around his wrists, holding his arms open wide like he was on a concrete cross. The strain in his joints was making his arms ache; the few experimental tugs he gave warned him not to waste too much energy trying to shake them loose. They were connected to large ring bolts wedged into the walls, the kind that was used to having much thicker large chains attached to them. He scanned the floor nervously; the entrance to this place had a large shutter down on one side… big enough to fit a large van or a cargo crate into.

He'd been down to a place like this before, two years ago with his mother Lynn Echolls and his father during a publicity tour of the docks for his dad's action movie Hard Voyage. Eating chips out of newspapers and dodging the multitude of crates filled with shellfish and the latest import from God knows where. He choked down a bitter laugh, he remembered thinking at the time that he'd rather be caught dead than end up someplace like this.

 _Fate is a cruel bitch…_

It didn't seem to matter to anyone that he was innocent. He'd never done anything to earn his father's abuse, well not at first anyways. After being beaten and told he was good for nothing, it started to take root, started to give him a reason to play the deviant. Might as well do something to earn the hand that life had dealt him.

He'd been the poster boy for a guy with Daddy Issues. He played the whore and the rebel. Lilly had been his partner in crime but even her issues had far outweighed his own, hells… hers had gotten her killed.

 _He couldn't die here… this couldn't be the end…_

Not when he'd finally found someone who did love him, even when he had been starting to believe that no one could ever really start to fall in love with him.

 _Veronica… I want to write us a brand new story… one with a happy ending… I want a lifetime of summers with you to make us for how I screwed the last one up…_

He wanted to be the man that she knew he was, the one who was real. Not the mosaic of bits and pieces, the Act, the Echolls Performance that he had crafted over the years to get people to love him. He'd always been someone else… the class clown, the joker… a jackass… he wanted to be himself.

 _This can't happen… I have to get out of here…_

He stretched his legs and did the mental maths to see if he'd be able to stand up, there wasn't enough slack on the bindings. He was stuck on his ass waiting for his abductors to make their next move.

 _Son of a bitch…_


	24. Chapter 24

"No for realz man, it's a like a Tie but it's really a hipflask… I can hide at least 9oz of uncle Theo's good stuff in here and no one would notice" Shiv grinned as he flashed his blue and silver stripy tie and showed his cousin Matteo where the mouthpiece was connected to a straw.

"Yeah… unnoticed… like you don't look like you should be attending church or a court hearing or something right now" Weevil laughed in unison with the rest of his friends. Havier was one of the younger members of the PCH biker gang, and definitely not one of the most talented thinkers, but he surely was one of the most entertaining. Kid was always getting into trouble. No way Sheriff Lamb would be missing his oversized shirt that he had clearly borrowed from his Moms latest boyfriend. The collar was at least twice as big as the kids neck and he looked ridiculous. He took a swig of his tequila and shook his head no when Luis offered him a hit from a joint.

It felt good to be out with his boys, good to be out and enjoying the spoils of a good months graft, but he couldn't stop the small shard of loneliness from creeping in and stabbing him in the gut when all he heard was the sound that wasn't there.

Felix's laughter was missing.

And thanks to that 09er asshole, Logan Echolls, it would never be here again. For Jesus. H. Christ… Lamb had several WITNESSES from that night… and Echolls was STILL out walking around. Lawyered up and breathing like he hadn't just killed the closest thing that Weevil had to a brother.

"¡Oye ese! ¿Que hay de nuevo?" Matteo grinned as one of the newer members of their group, Elec, arrived.

"Nothing man, just caught some El codo trying to sneak some of this into our fine ass rave tonight" Elec said as he held up a large bottle of whiskey.

"Nice!" Havier said, his eyes widening in awe as he reached for the bottle. Kids expressions were almost as comical as the misspelled way the nurse had recorded his name.

"Sure if you want a hangover in the morning" Weevil laughed as he pulled the bottle out of Elec's hand and began to read the label. Sometimes the good stuff they took of the 09er crowd could be sold over to Sals for a decent payday, and the 09er brats always took the good stuff from their parents house. It's like they just WANTED his crew to take it.

"Una cruda espantosa" Matteo agreed as he opened another beer.

"Ven a mi canton y vamos a chupar unas chelas" Elec offered as he looked around the growing crowd of their underground little rave. Sheriff Lamb would hear about it soon and most of Neptunes finest would be on their way to break it up, they might have organized this illegal party, but they weren't stupid enough to stick around for when the cops showed up.

"Won't your Papi kick your ass after last time?" Havier asked, causing Elec to hesitate.

"Dale con ganas guey!" Matteo encouraged.

"Funny I find you talking about Balls, you'd have to have some hell of a pair to think I wouldn't figure this one out Weevil" Veronica interrupted, her eyes level with the older boy.

"Qué onda guero?" Elec asked as he took the bottle that Weevil handed back to him.

"There a problem Ms Mars?" Weevil smirked, rolling his shoulders in that arrogant way he usually taunted the Sheriff. Moving like a large cat, he almost circled her.

 _Way to go V, right into the Wolves den with no backup, and no plan. Hella smart…_ she chastised herself. The beach party had been a fruitless endeavour, and she'd searched the Road Hog street race with no success. Figures she'd find Weevil right in the middle of a crowded rave with lots of underage witnesses and it was obvious from the crowded scene, that wherever they had Logan… it wasn't here.

"Where is he?" she demanded, crossing her arms. Proud of herself for her voice not quivering. _Where was Logan?_

 _What the Hell were they planning on Doing to him that they needed so many obvious witnesses?_

"Where is who?" Weevil grinned, shrugging for dramatic effect, earning him a chuckle from the rest of his friends.

"Don't play games with me!" she yelled, shoving him backwards, almost tipping him onto his ass. Shocked at her own actions, and Weevil seemed momentarily just as startled.

 _Big Mistake Veronica… she'd actually laid hands on him… in front of junior members of the PCHers. No way Weevil could allow that challenge to go unpunished._

Straightening up, he adjusted his shirt, and moved like liquid as he pressed his nose right up against hers, looming over her. His hands grabbing the lapels of her green jacket.

"I don't know what you are talking about" Weevil snarled back. "But I assume if you mean that 09er prick Echolls… I think you'll find him in that Ivory Tower of his, with that golden spoon shoved up has ass instead of in a prison Cell where he belongs"

 _What the Hell did a woman as great as Veronica see in an asshole like Echolls? Bitches man… it always came down to the size of the trust fund._

"I know you know where he is… just tell me… before this goes too far…" Veronica pleaded, her blue eyes wide and desperate.

"Orale! Weevil! Time to split, Jose say's he saw two units dispatch traveling up by Oak st and Fairbanks" one of the older PCHers called out, and as if moved by some kind of group instructions that Veronica couldn't hear, they dispersed from their little congregation and started to head for their bikes.

"Qué onda?" Havier asked as his cousin shoved him towards his bike.

"Aquí se va a formar un despelote" Matteo grumbled as he shoved the bottle Elec handed him and half the takings from their illegal admission fees into the industrial warehouse rave into his bag.

"Que barbaridad!" Havier sulked as he climbed onto the back of his cousins ride.

"Ándale!" Elec snapped at Weevil who was still staring intently at Veronica.

"I know you took him!" Veronica accused him, her blue eyes growing more impatient.

"I didn't touch that Jackass" Weevil glared at her. "If I did, you certainly would have heard about it… I don't skulk about in the shadows like a coward"

"You cut his monitor off… you took him… where is he?" she demanded again.

"Yo, Weevil Man… we have got to go!" Elec insisted as he pulled on his helmet and tossed Weevil his jacket

"I still ain't got no idea what you are talking about…" Weevil said sincerely as he pulled on his jacket and pulled out his keys. "Cutting off his monitor? That seem like the actions of an innocent man to you?" he countered.

"Dammit Weevil… just answer me!" she begged angrily. "He IS innocent… why can't you see that?"

"Maybe because I'm not blinded by his Hollywood Lineage and multimillion dollar trust fund? Look you wouldn't be the first pretty girl to fall for Echolls bullshit… I don't wanna see you end up like Lilly, Veronica… Like Father… Like Son… he KILLED Felix" Weevil told her solemnly. "We should be on the SAME side… I thought you were your fathers daughter? Where is your sense of justice for my friend huh? Or does it not count if we ain't from an 09er zip-code?"

"That's not fair…" Veronica swallowed, dread settling into her stomach. Either Weevil was a very skilled liar, and had one hell of a poker face, or he really didn't know anything. She'd played him at poker before… and his skills at lying to her sucked… which meant only the horrifying possibility that he really didn't know anything.

"Hells yes it aint fair!" Weevil yelled, drawing the attention of several bystanders. "If Logan had been just another one of us… he'd be doing hard time already, but instead, because he's rich and he's white.. he gets a free pass, but I'm guessing he's smarter than I thought now he's finally up against an upstanding witness, he decided to just cut his losses, and run"

"He didn't…" she denied, shaking her head.

"Open your eyes, V! He's in the wind!" Weevil scoffed.

"He wouldn't leave me!" she screamed back at him.

 _If Weevil honestly thought that Logan had just ran…. Then she was clean out of suspects…_

She searched his dark eyes, praying that she was wrong, looking for some sign of deceit that would betray him, but Weevil believed what he was saying. It was right there in the pity that crept into his large seal pup brown eyes as his face softened.

 _Where the Hell was Logan?_

 _(Wow it has been ages since I've updated these stories lol... been working on some original side projects which have been taking up a lot of my focus lately, hopefully you will get to meet them soon... if I ever get around to finishing my first attempt at drafting my debut novel... so any and all feedback about my writing is greatly appreciated lol... just a lil teaser chapter to ease us back into the story... I will be upating regularly until this one is completed, and I will be working on updating the others I've left a bit in limbo recently)_


	25. Chapter 25

(Song for this scene LIGHTS cover by Wanderhouse)

Logan tried his best to choke down the rising panic. It had been hours since he'd woken up here.

Hours and nothing.

No one around except the curious rats that kept running around the base of the concrete pillar opposite him.

 _Surely someone should have come by to check on him by now?_

The longer he was left there, the more he realized that his captors didn't care too much about his welfare, the odds of this ending with him in a body bag or littering the ocean in a million little pieces were becoming more and more likely.

 _I really shouldn't have insisted on that boxset marathon of Dexter…_ He grumbled to himself, as he attempted to roll his shoulders to ease the discomfort.

"Hey! Get off!" he snapped as he kicked at the small rodent who had come over to inspect the laces on his shoes but it didn't scurry off much.

Pity the restraints weren't made of rope, maybe then the diseased furballs could be of some use if he could train them to gnaw through his bindings. His wrists were too far away to consider dislocating own thumbs to get out of the chains holding him.

The smell of sea salt and diesel from the shipyard docks surrounded him and he shivered again, the wind caught at a strange angle coming in off the shore and was funnelled directly into his current prison.

 _It can't end this way…_

The only comforting thought was that Sheriff Lamb would definitely be looking for him, if only because he suspected that Logan would be trying to skip town and it was a high profile case. It wouldn't save him though.

 _Veronica… Would she think he'd just skipped town? Would she assume the worst? Would she try to avenge him like she had Lilly?_

The thought that he knew she would try to find answers terrified him, the last time she went digging into something she shouldn't have his father had almost killed her.

 _She would get herself hurt…_

Hell he wasn't perfect, he never claimed to be, but he wasn't this person. He didn't deserve this. He refused to sink into self-pity. Falling down that particular rabbit hole would only get him killed he acknowledged angrily. Fury a good emotion, it could give him just enough fight to keep his head in the game, to stay focused.

"Get off!" he snarled as he kicked his foot and launched the small rat which had been climbing on his calf across the room. Feeling a slight swell of satisfaction to at least be rid of one problem.

"There's that tabloid famous temper" a deep familiar male voice said from somewhere in the shadows to his left and he squinted against the sharp brightness that suddenly flooded the space around him. "Sorry for the theatrics… but I am sure you can appreciate my need for discretion" the voice said, as the stranger came into view, flanked on either side by two companions, he looked up into a face he knew only too well.

"Hello Logan"

"Since when do we invite Harriet the Spy into our business?" Hector complained as he climbed down the steps to their apartment block as Veronica climbed off the back of Weevils motorcycle.

"Since she has information and I need answers" Weevil dismissively as he turned and focused his attention on the petite blond standing beside him clutching the helmet he had given her. "Talk" he ordered.

"Not until I get my car" Veronica countered.

"I told you, Matteo and Shiv are going to bring your Lebaron right here when I make the call" he reaffirmed impatiently, climbing off the bike and falling into step beside Elec. Veronica flitted her gaze between both the taller Hispanic men and over towards Hector, then up at the apartment block. She had heard that Weevil had moved into a PCHer apartment block after Logan had evicted him while his two younger sisters and his grandmother had moved into a small duplex a few streets over in the 03 part of town. This was her first time here though. Several of the gang members called this place home, it was well known for underage parties, poor decisions and supplying just about anything an unreputable person might need.

Weevil might have always been in the PCHer's, but at least at his grandmothers house… he'd always been able to maintain that distance between himself and the more unsavoury aspects of gang life. She didn't want to think what being so entrenched in this place would do to him.

"So make it" Veronica said, crossing her arms.

"What's going on?" Thumper demanded as he bounded down the steps towards Weevil, three other guys who Veronica didn't recognise following closely behind.

"Echolls skipped town" Weevil declared without breaking eye contact with Veronica.

"So blondie here's trying to give us a little shake down?" Thumper snorted.

"Do we look like the Goonies?" Hector sneered, crossing his arms and flanking Weevil on the other side of Elec. "It ain't our fault if you can't keep track of your boyfriend."

"I thought you boys were supposed to be doing that thing down at the shipyard tonight?" Weevil queried as he glanced over at Thumper. A shipment of highly sought trainers, wallets and handbags and other small goods were being brought in tonight, the plan had been to rip off the delivery container and swap the numbers then sell the contents off at mile marker 15, and through Sals.

"We was gonna, but there was some unexpected Opp, some activity down there tonight, a private yacht moored right there on the Dock" one of the other guys behind Thumper explained, and Veronica's attention perked up.

"Activity?" Elec asked.

"Yeah, private security, some guys in suits… some had those Russian tatts… we know better than to get involved with those types. We will just have to try again on the 13th" Thumper shrugged.

"Russian's?" Veronica questioned. This didn't make any sense, she was sure that Weevil and the PCHers had had something to do with Logan's disappearance, but they didn't seem to be hiding anything, and the anger emanating from Weevil to get to the bottom of his location was palpable.

"See Man? This is why we don't bring Nancy Drew here around our business" Hector complained.

"What yacht?" Weevil asked, ignoring his friends outburst as he reached for the phone that Jose was handing him. Flicking through several pictures he frowned, the boat didn't seem familiar, but he knew that several of their contact's would be angry about the delay in their shipment. Sighing he rolled his eyes as Veronica stepped up close to his chest and began to scroll through the pictures.

"Hey!" Jose complained reaching for the phone, but Veronica stepped back, her eyes widening in shock. The change in her demeanour caught Weevil's curiosity.

"What do you see?" he asked as he glanced back down at the phone.

She had zoomed in on the lettering clearly visible on the side of the yacht was the name _Blue Moon_ written in a beautiful calligraphy.

 _Why in the world would Neptune's most beloved mourning father be avoiding his fancy slip down by the jetty to park down at the seedy shipyard docks in the middle of the night?_

 _Had Duncan planned this?_

"What's going on?" Logan said in a small voice as he tugged on his restraints, looking at the faces of the stern strangers glaring at him, before gazing into the bright familiar blue eyes of Jake Kane.

"Well Logan… I never used to be much of a biblical man, but since losing my daughter, I've really found my faith again. Unfortunately for you… I'm a fan of the classics. Very Old Testament" he sighed, pausing for dramatic effect. "Your father took a child from me… so now it's time I returned the favor"

"What?!" Logan gulped, the momentary relief he'd felt when he thought that perhaps Duncan had sent his father to look for him, vanishing in an instant.

"Take him" Jake nodded to the strangers, who stepped forwards to grab hold of Logan.

"Hey… now.. wait… let's talk about this for a second… Jake!" Logan called out as he struggled against the two older men. "Jake man… please…" Logan pleaded as they began to place a cloth bag over his head. "Stop!" he begged before he was rewarded by a punch in the gut.

"Get him on the boat, let's get out of here" Jake said.


	26. Chapter 26

*******Please note this chapter has been revised and extended!***** Au/Ra - Panic Room.

"My game, I think" Jake said merrily as he sat down opposite Logan on the lounge chair in the upper deck of the Blue Moon as he swirled the ice in his Scotch. "I must give Dimitri here the credit though… staging your abduction to look like you had slipped your monitor off, that was a nice touch" he sneered, making a cheers motion to the larger man sitting to Logan's left as he was handed a glass of Scotch in a highball glass. His face hurt, his temples were throbbing and he was sure that the ensuing fight as he had struggled to get free from his bonds had been in vain as all it seemed to have done was to earn him a busted lip from something hard and metallic.

 _Maybe the butt of a gun?_ Logan thought glumly as he took the glass from the other man he had heard referred to as Yuri while they were taking him upstairs.

"Of course, just in case Sheriff Lamb decides to do some real detective work, the video footage of masked guys in leather biker jackets could easily be mistaken for those little PCHer friends you made over the Summer" Jake continued, watching him from over the rim of his glass, as if daring him to say something. "Such a people person…"

"Can we just SKIP INTRO and get to the point?" Logan retorted dryly with a nonchalance he didn't really feel. Prompting a bitter amused smirk from Jake Kane.

"You and that mouth... Ever since the day Celeste and Lynn brought you and Duncan home from Kindergarten. I always thought you were such a spirited young man. I used to like that about you…" he said almost like he was reliving the very day with a wistful kind of sadness. "You always helped to bring Duncan out of his shell, he was such a quiet kid... and after Lilly... well, you were one of the only things that really kept him going. He can be so introverted... I'm hoping given your recent transgressions over the Mars Girl that he will find the loss much easier to get over this time. Maybe even welcome it" Jake continued, draining the rest of his scotch.

 _He will find the loss much easier to get over this time…_ the words echoed in Logan's head _. Surely he didn't mean…?_

"Jake... look whatever you are thinking... it's not too late... we can just turn around... no one has to know" Logan assured him, sitting forward, hoping that he was sensing a break in the older mans resolve. _He'd spent so long being envious of Duncan… wishing that he'd had a father like Jake Kane…. He couldn't really mean to kill him… surely?_ If he could appeal to his better nature, remind him that he'd known him his entire life... all the time they spent together.

 _How much they had both loved Lilly... maybe he could still get out of this... if only he wasn't glaring at Logan as if the old adage, like father, like son had a lick of truth to it…_

"That's exactly the plan, son. No one will know" Jake said, a hardness creeping into his tone as he locked eyes with Logan. "I wouldn't waste a good scotch... you don't have much time left to enjoy it."

He wasn't sure if he took that large gulp of scotch to try and appeal to his captor, that he could be good and follow orders, or if was trying to drown the fear clawing at his throat as the older Slavic man glared at him.

 _Since when was Billionaire Jake Kane mixed up with B Movie worthy Russian goons?_

"I guess I don't have to worry about the quality at least. You always did know how to choose the good stuff... you taught me and Duncan how to have our first drink on my 17th Birthday remember? We went up to that rental in the Hamptons?" Logan rambled nervously as he watched Jake slouch back into his chair with a second scotch reminding him of the summer vacation both of their families had shared last year.

"Yes, how could I forget? We had that big barbecue with the Graysons. Victoria announced the funding for the Memorial Fountain in Lillys Honor... your father was there" Jake confirmed quietly, an edge to his voice as a bitter melancholy passed between them.

"If you were even half a man, you would have the decency to not even look him in the eye" Dimitri ground out. "It is a coward who still tries to make excuses for his father after the things yours has done. An honourable man would have cleaned his own house instead of allowing an innocent to suffer because of his weakness. Real men protect their women… their mothers" he said in that thick accent, casting a careful glance at Jake. "A father cannot be blamed for the wanderings of his daughter, but he entrusted my God-Daughter to you in good faith... you knew what kind of man your father was. His marks are all over your body, you would think you had been raised back home in the Ukraine... yet you allowed him to get close to her. Such an act is unforgivable."

 _Her Godfather?_

"I used to tell myself that I was lucky to have had a young man like you, mourn my daughter, standing by my son, especially after he withdrew like he did last year. A young man who would always be forthcoming, loyal. Then I found out the truth about you... those bum fights, the trouble you used to get yourself into.. that business over the summer... You failed Lynn, you failed my Lilly... you failed yourself" Jake added, shaking his head, drinking down the last of his glass and reaching for the bottle.

Drinking almost as if to wash away the taste of his words, or the moment.

"I thought... after you lost your mother, after everything... that I could just leave you to whatever mess you created for yourself. I took Duncan away that summer, told him to rebuild his life away from your influence. I tried to even convince him to go to different school but with all the legal matters around the case… it wasn't possible… I thought given how angry he was with you.. he was free, but then you came skulking back. Like an Infection... you couldn't just take your freedom from those Lawyers I sent, and that judge I paid off... you just had to stay in Neptune. Spreading your bad air." he continued as he got out of his chair and reached for the bottle.

 _Those Lawyers I sent, and that judge I paid off... Jake had rigged his hearing?_

Logans fingers clutched tighter around his glass, the moisture on the outside coating his fingers. He knew he should have been assessing the room, looking for escape routes, but he was hypnotized by the older mans movements. The blue eyes blazing in cold fury as they bore into him, a predator sizing up his prey as he took the pictures that Yuri handed him.

"Ungrateful weed… You stayed... Causing trouble. Not only did you worm your way back into his friendship. You moved in with my son! Do you have any idea how much it angers me to know that for the last few months I have been paying for the room and board for the wretched spawn of the man who murdered my Angel? Like a God-damned cuckoo…" he bellowed running a hand through his hair, swaying slightly on his feet.

 _How long had he been drinking?_

"He was finally happy. That is all a parent wants for their child Logan... a decent parent... is for them to be happy. How can he be happy with a backstabbing friend like you... who steals his girl?" Jake said, throwing the papers onto the table. Logan cast a cautious glance at the photographs on the table. Pictures of him kissing Veronica on the pier the night of their fight, others tracing Logan's movements for the last few weeks.

"My people have a rule, never look at another man's wife. Even your friend Dick knows this rule. Bros before Hoes no?" Dimitri added with a sneer.

"Don't worry, she will be dealt with" Yuri assured him.

"Dealt with?" Logan said straightening up and putting his glass on the table. Alarmed, and ready for bolting towards the exit despite Yuri's obvious pistol bulge if he had to. Jake laughed wholeheartedly at his reaction as if he found the assumption that they would hurt Veronica hilarious.

"Need Specifics Logan? Oh do use that brain of yours..." he said almost rolling his eyes. "Veronica has value. Her testimony is needed to make sure your father makes it onto death row... the Kane Scholarship would only be a fair reward for such educational dedication" Jake told him. "You on the other hand… are a liability. Honestly, I couldn't care less what you got up to with Veronica. Duncan would have come to his senses after he finds out the truth about the Manning girl"

"This whole deranged monologue moment is touching… but do you have a point? I always wondered if it was just a case of bad script writing, but no... seems real whack-jobs do that shit and my years of yelling at the screen were unjustified... I owe every Bond Bad Guy an apology" Logan challenged. Being afraid wasn't getting anywhere, if this was to be his end.

 _He was going to go down fighting._

"Thats what you dont understand Logan... the Narrative here is EVERYTHING. Why do you think I arranged for your father to be transferred over just in time for your arrest? Why do you think I reached out to Dimitri here to deal with the particulars of looking into your movements over the last few weeks?" Jake said, leaning over the table pointing at the pictures. "I wouldn't have given a shit about you until your father threatened my son… trying to arrange some evidence tampering using his new cell mate. Even if he succeeds in beating the charges… implicating you will paint quite the picture of the sort of man your father is. I mean... I know you think I am harsh Logan. But at least I allowed my enemy the chance to see his child one last time" he said pointing towards the large television screen behind them.

 _Implicating you will paint quite the picture of the sort of man your father is…_

"What is this?" Aaron Echolls demanded from the faceless tattooed men as he was forced into the small metal chair in front of the laptop.

"Dad?" Logan asked as he looked at his confused image filling the screen.

"Logan?" he asked warily.

"Aaron... so nice of you to join us for your sons last meal" Jake greeted sardonically as he raised his bottle of scotch to the screen and Logan heard the distinctive click of the safety being taken off as Yuri pointed his pistol at the back of his head.

"Have you gone completely insane?" Logan exclaimed as his heart jackhammered in his chest.

"LOGAN!" Aaron cried out. "Jake don't hurt him!"

Jake burst out laughing. "Don't… hurt him? I've seen the marks on his back. It's a little late to be concerned about his welfare now… especially after your scheming signed his death certificate" he said, his eyes narrowing at the screen as he pointed at Logan.

"Scheming?" Aaron protested unconvincingly.

"You for an Actor… are a terrible Liar" Dimitri observed, his accent thickening around the words. "An associate of mine had some very interesting tales of an acquaintance of his whom had dinner at your house. I believe the young man used to date your daughter yes? He had quite the story to tell."

"You're all crazy…" Logan muttered beneath his breath.

 _This was how it was all going to end? In the middle of this charade?_

"Quiet" Yuri ordered as he pressed the pistol against the base of Logan's skull.

"Crazy? Or perhaps I'm just mad with grief… sick with fury? This MONSTER murdered my daughter" Jake spat. "Now you are trying to frame MY SON" he ranted, whirling back to the screen.

"I have no idea what you are talking about… Jake… let's all just calm down and talk about this… please…" Aaron denied in that infuriatingly calm voice that turned Logan's blood cold. Even with a gun pointed to his childs head, the man refused to admit the truth.

 _Logan was nothing like him…_

"Stop lying… if I'm going to pay the price for your sins, at least own what you did" Logan ground out through gritted teeth.

"Or was it what YOU did?" Dimitri challenged.

"I brought you both here to find out the TRUTH…" Jake announced. "I know I went to great lengths to protect my boy… even after everything I had thought he'd done. Now I want to know which one of you killed my daughter?"

Logan looked up into the screen at his fathers face to gauge his reaction.

"You know who killed Lilly…" Logan protested, twisting his face up to look Jake in the eye.

"I don't understand…" Aaron said, assessing the other man. "Neither of us killed your daughter, Jake you **have** to believe me…" he insisted, the ease with which he lied chilled Logan to the bone, how could anyone trust anything he ever said to be real?

"You lying son of a bitch… just tell the truth! It's over… you were caught… how else do you explain those tapes? You killed her to keep her quiet!" Logan snarled as he stood and shouted at the screen. "You tried to kill Veronica! You put her father in the hospital!"

"Or did he try to kill Veronica to protect you?" Dimitri challenged.

"NO! He did it…" Logan denied, his eyes wide as he looked between Yuri and Jake, eyes beseeching him to see the truth.

"I wish I could trust you Logan… you see, I just can't understand why you lied to the police about being in Neptune the day of the murder… at first we thought it was Duncan, and it's my greatest shame as a father that I failed my boy by thinking he could do such a terrible thing to his sister… but every action I took in regards to Abel Koontz was to protect my family… which is why it puzzles me why Clarence found THIS in my daughters car" he said reaching his hand into his pocket and pulling out a small piece of folded paper, recognition flaring in Logan's mind as his gaze locked onto that piece of paper. "At the time, we didn't think much of it, it wasn't dated, so there was no way to prove exactly when you wrote it… we held onto it, just in case we needed to create reasonable doubt. Dealing with your witnesses could have been a problem had I needed to point the police in your direction, but can you imagine my surprise when it turned out, you had crossed back over the border on your own?"

 _The Note… the one he had left in Lilly's car.._

"One of you is lying, and frankly I don't care anymore who. Justice will be served" Jake told him coldly.

"I didn't kill your daughter…" Logan swallowed as he backed away.

"He didn't Jake…. He's just a kid for Christs sake…" Aaron added.

"I don't need any help from **_you_** …" Logan ground out as he glared at his father. "I **_LOVED_** Lilly…"

"So did your father it seemed..." Dimitri inserted.

"I've said it before… those videos were a fabrication… careful editing… I wasn't involved with your baby girl… I'm a father too… _I have a daughter Jake…._ We are friends… do you honestly think I could do something like that to you?" Aaron lied again. This performance was making Logan feel as sick as it had the first time he'd heard it in that prison cell.

"Oh God, just shoot me…." Logan complained to Yuri. "If I have to stand here and listen to this drivel… please just end it" he sighed before he turned back angrily to his father "You are guilty, and I hate you… you can't lie to me… I'll die always knowing the truth of what you did, to Mom, to Lilly... no matter how many people you charm into believing your lies… I don't know why we are all still standing around talking about this… I KNOW it wasn't Duncan… and Since **WHEN** did you join the MAFIA? This has all gone completely insane…" he ranted as he looked at his father on the television and back at one red-eyed deranged looking Jake Kane. He'd morphed into some bizarre alcoholic junkie version of a Mr Santa Claus... he was unrecognisable from the man he'd always known. The other two were inconsequential... He was just exhausted, he'd moved beyond fear. Even if he kept his life... unless his father confessed, Jake was going try framing HIM for Lilly's murder instead using that note and he'd end up in prison anyway.

"I just wanted to protect my son... those videos... I found them on Logan's computer... he had edited them together as a silly revenge prank... and when Veronica found them... she thought they were real and took them out of context before I could explain... I panicked... a father will do anything to protect his children, you can't fault me for that Jake" Aaron lied smoothly. "It was an accident a tragic... horrible mistake... she slipped by the pool during a fight they had about their break up... when he called me... he was so scared... I'd told him to wait for me... I'd been on my way to your house to try to help when Clarence found me at the entrance and told me you were out with Celeste... no one meant for this to happen... He never meant for this to happen... I tried to raise him better than this..."

"Anything to save your own skin..." Logan uttered in shock as his father kept talking in that honeyed voice... so emotional... so reasonable... he'd thrown his own kid under the bus save his own ass, and he did it with such ease... whatever part of Logan had been holding onto hope that Veronica had been wrong, that there really was an explanation for those videos.. that his dad did love him despite screwing his girlfriend... shattered as his fathers final words ran in Logan's ears.

"My son killed your daughter"


	27. Chapter 27

Song for this Scene Cold by Jorge Mendez (Writer Note... the Jake Kane I'm depicting here is more in tune with the version which we saw in Season 3)

"There really is no line you won't cross is there?" Logan asked numbly, his voice sounding from as if it were coming from far away. Betrayed.

 _He thought he'd at least meant something to his father… one of the few people who was supposed to love him more than anything... and a part of him had still loved his dad in spite of everything..._

"Thank you for finally telling me the truth" Jake breathed, his chest heaving as if he'd finally let go of some weight he didn't realize he was carrying.

"He's lying!" Logan argued but he was rewarded by Yuri aiming the gun at his face.

"The lengths we go to for our children…" Jake spoke to no one in particular.

"Because we love them…." Aaron pressed, his espresso-dark gaze measuring the reactions of the other man.

"I don't think you know how to love anything" Logan commented but his voice was barely more than a whisper.

"Keeping the letter was only ever a fail-safe, in case the trial with Abel Koontz went wrong, or something else was found… I never expected it to reveal the truth… that your son… murdered my precious girl" Jake murmured, mostly to himself, as he turned and sat down on the couch opposite the screen, the other men all watching his movements carefully.

"How similar we are, Aaron. We both got to where we are by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, built our fortunes from nothing. Both in the public eye, the pressures of family life… Neither of us can exactly claim to have always been the best men, Heaven's knows, I've done enough fooling around behind my wife's back. If I'd perhaps been a better husband, maybe my daughter would still be around… If you had maybe Lynn would still be here?" he suggested sardonically.

"Appreciating the Love of a Good Woman could have saved us both. When I read this letter at first, I thought…. THIS… THIS was a young man who knew how to truly appreciate my Lilly. Now I see that this passionate declaration of love… is the ramblings of possessive, psychotic, murdering son-of-a-bitch. There isn't many things in this world my marriage to Celeste has ever done right… but my Lilly?" he said, pointing towards a large oil portrait painting behind Logan. "She was our 9th Symphony… her and her brother… I just want to understand… WHY Logan? Why did you do it?" Jake asked, his red rimmed eyes fixed on Logan's with an agonized searching. "If you claimed to have loved my daughter so much… HOW could you…?"

"In time we will get all our answers, our initial investigation here was just to get your father to talk, to make him understand the gravity of his scheming, that Justice would not be denied. That there are penalties for crossing my family in this way" Dimitri told Logan as Yuri nodded for him to take his seat again opposite Jake.

"Jake… this isn't how we should be dealing with these… tragic circumstances…. Logan is just a child… We should meet… talk this out… who are these men?" Aaron tried to reason.

"My name is Dimitri Kumarin. I was Jake's roommate and fraternity brother at Hearst College, his first business partner, I consider him closer than most blood family. Lilly, was my God-daughter, and I intend to see that the appropriate restitution is given for the sins committed here" he announced, his muscled six foot frame dominating the small space, his deep voice resonating a commanding tone. He looked like a former wrestling champion, and he probably outweighed Logan by around 150lbs, arms like those looked like they had been earned by slowly beating his victims into dog chow.

 _Well that explains how Media Friendly Beloved Jake Kane knows the Russian Mob…_ Logan thought angrily. _This was insane. He was going to die on this stupid boat surrounded by lunatics who have obviously seen John Wick way too many times_...

"College huh? And there was me thinking that Neptune was a long way from Brighton Beach" Logan retorted sarcastically as he glared up at the taller man.

"If you had any sense of self-preservation, you would do best to be silent" Yuri snarled, next to Dimitri, he was built like a Chihuahua but he still gave Logan reason for pause. He might have been able to outrun the juggernaut meathead, but Yuri was lean, faster and built like a pro-athlete, and he still had that gun, even if an escape attempt was made. Not to mention… there were other staff on the yacht. None of the regular staff whom Logan recognised, it was all an entirely unknown crew, but he wasn't sure how many of them were on board the Blue Moon, or how long they'd been away from shore before they'd brought him up the stairs. He'd be running blind and the freezing waters this time of year wouldn't allow much chance at a successful swim back to land. The cold would get him first.

He was trapped… where would he even go? Lamb wasn't going to find him here… he would be too busy sending deputy's towards the Mexican border… harassing his friends Dick and he was sure after his call earlier from Duncan telling him to not bother coming back to the Hotel meant that there would be no reason to investigate the Kane's. His only hope on this boat was Jake Kane… and the man he'd known his whole life was MIA… and acting like a deranged drunken psychopath…

His life was a dumpster fire, even if he got off this boat alive, he was going to end up serving a life sentence for the murder of Felix Toomes, another murder he didn't commit.

He only had one thing worth going back to… and he prayed that he never knew the truth now. When he'd thought she hated him… he didn't have this overwhelming certainty that Veronica would get her Dad to search for him… and they would get hurt because of him…. Because of whatever actions Jake and Dimitri would take to cover this up… his Dad would probably get shanked on his way back to his cell, and Logan would end up with some concrete shoes feeding the fishes. Veronica would never stop looking for him… because she loved him, and it would get her killed.

 _It would be all his fault… if only he had stayed away…_

"Listen to him Logan, just shut up until we can all figure this out… " Aaron insisted diplomatically, trying to placate the other men.

"There's nothing to figure out Aaron. This is simple. It's about a father, protecting his son. You came after my boy, so I have to make you stop" Jake slurped as he lifted the bottle to his mouth and looked at Dimitri who nodded to the man standing behind Logan's father on the screen.

It happened so fast that Aaron Echolls barely had time to react, two strong hands pulled his arms into a restrained seated position as the one of the prison guards held him down and the other pulled a small piece of metal wire around his throat, and began to choke him.

"Logan!" Aaron gargled in shock as he tried to fight against his attackers, yanking one hand free long enough to pull and claw at his own neck. Wide eyed, unable to speak Logan stared at the screen in horror, it lasted only moments but it's like time had both sped up but slowed down all in the same instance. Aaron Echolls eyes bulged as struggled to get up from his seat, finger nails almost breaking as he tried to pull away from the younger prison guard strangling him by trying to throw himself forwards over the metal table. He jerked, spluttering and shaking violently before he couched up blood and finally the light faded, whatever savage animal look of desperation had seeped from his eyes and then he was released, lifeless onto the table.

 _Jake Kane had just had his father murdered…._ He'd just seen it but somehow Logan couldn't get the information to feel real. Anger had been his refuge, but Logan could feel the first stabbings of grief pullling at his stomach. He was a monster... but he hadn't been prepared for the loss.

 _Jake had just had his father killed…_ the silence that settled over everyone made Logan's skin crawl.

 _Jake Kane had just murdered his dad... Logan had hated his father... he'd been so angry at him for so long but this? This?_

 _Death was something that left no more options. There were no more moves... no more plays... no more head games or manipulations... his dad was just... gone, and Logan was sure he was going to be able to handle that._

"Threats need to be quarantined, and then erased…" Jake told Logan after he tore his eyes away from the scene they'd just witnessed. "Not that I'm sure this bothers you…" Jake scoffed, pointing at the screen where the two prison guards were now checking his dead father's vitals. "Duncan will be safe now… it will look like he hung himself in his cell after leaving me a very details video confession…. Careful editing… I believe your dad called it. The world will know what you did… not surprising is it? After everything that happened with Felix Toomes on that bridge? No one will doubt the truth. I'm even having my head of security, Clarence get in contact with his former colleagues in the FBI… I'm sure there is more to find… you see we did some digging into that Bus Crash after I found out the Manning girl was pregnant with my grandchild… imagine my surprise when an old friend of your fathers turned up dead a few days later" Jake accused him.

"Wait… you think that I..?" Logan asked incredulously, he barely noticed that the screen linking their skype call to the prison had now been turned off.

 _Was he seriously trying to say that He'd had something to do with the Bus Crash that had claimed the lives of 8 of his classmates and almost killed Veronica and Duncan?_

"I do not need you to tell me what to THINK Logan! I hadn't been sure what to make of it. I thought your father was trying to get rid of the witnesses… but it's you isn't it? How many lives exactly HAVE you taken Logan? How many will be taken if I don't finish this here tonight?" Jake snarled at him. "But before this is all over… you will give me what I want… you will confess to everything you have done… one way or another…" His blue eyes blazed with artic fire as Logan observed two more men enter the room to begin setting up a video camera, and he was sure that footage method they were going to use, wasn't going to be a simple Q&A interview as he saw Dimitri reach into his pocket and remove some golden knuckle dusters.

"I'll leave you to it" Jake said casually to Dimitri as he got up and started walking down the stairs leaving Logan and the other men alone.


	28. Chapter 28

This was the last straw to an awful day! Madison Sinclair thought angrily as Sheriff Lamb finished going through her boyfriend's phone. Nate Johnson had began to play with her entertainment system and Blink 182 - Whats My Age Again? was now blasting out over the speakers to irritate Deputy Leo DAmato who was asking to see their ID as they sipped from their red cups.

"Dude, I TOLD you, I have no idea where Logan is" he frowned running his hand through his blonde hair as Lamb continued to pull apart the contents of the glove compartment of his car.

 _Where the hell_ _ **was**_ _Logan? No way he was going to betray his friends whereabouts anyways... but this wasn't like him. He wasn't like Duncan, he wouldn't just disppear without letting him know what was going on. They were bros._

 _Was he trying to sort things with Duncan?_

"Just tell him Dick, if you know something… so they can go and get him and get off my lawn before my parents come home!" Madison snapped angrily as she crossed her arms.

"I'm telling you the truth, I have no idea where he is… look, he said he was gonna maybe come by and crash in the pool house but I was gonna have to check with Mommsy-Poos first, because I'm not sure if she wants her boy-toy doing overnight visits and I've got enough of an earache from Beaves as it is because of the party last weekend since TECHNICALLY the place IS in his name… but I haven't heard from him since forever ago, I swear. He was supposed to be here hours ago" Dick insisted, his hands held up in a placating gesture.

"It's the truth... look, I've signed into the Marina... the boats still on the slip, talk to the Slip Caretaker..." Cassidy Casablancas insisted as he showed Lamb the ipad screen locating the yacht.

"See? Now can you get your Macho Jerks out of my hot tub?" she glared at the Sheriff as he raked his gaze over her red and gold bikini. His brows pulled up into a scowl. He hated having to give up his Saturday workout session to deal with Personal Calls from the Mayor… this Echolls situation was a shit-storm and the Media would hear about it soon, then **_he'd_** be in trouble. The drama caused by this kid over the summer had made his job so much harder, he was now under a microscope, and that Letti Hernandez reporter for the Tribune was a pain in his ass.

"Need I remind you that supplying alcohol to minor IS considered an offense?" he drawled, putting his hands on his hips. "Fortunately for you… I have a much more pressing issue. Are you certain you don't know the whereabouts of your friend?" Lamb questioned Madison. Prissy cheerleader jailbait types.. girls like this were only good for one thing… when they were Legal. Which according to her License was a few months away yet.

"No.. Officer" she retorted sarcastically. All these uniforms had caused most of her friends to abandon the pool party and take off towards the beach party down near the Neptune Pier.

"Sheriff… we got reports of an underground rave down by the Harbour Warehouse District?" Officer Ryans interrupted and Lamb scrubbed a hand down his face. The Echolls kid had been missing for about 2 hours, and so far the Neptune Grand, his Cell Phone, even the ATM information he'd gotten from his friend Niall Cooper over at the County Bank for the Echolls accounts said there had been no activity…. So far the kid was in the wind.

No one could disappear this completely… It's almost like he'd had help.

His passport had been surrendered, he'd not borrowed another vehicle as far as he could tell and no one matching his description had been found trying to cross the border into Mexico, and the State Troopers were setting up roadblocks. He hadn't been found yet.

The man power it was going to take to canvas the area for him was seriously going to hurt his departments budget…. And that would make the difference in his bonus this year, he thought furiously.

 _Not to mention the fricking paper work! The only other kid who gave him half as much trouble was…._

The cellphone in his hand began to ring and he looked down at the Caller ID.

This was just Proof that there was something unnatural about that girl.

Veronica Mars.

 _If there was anyone who would have the skills to help her boyfriend disappear…_

"Any particular reason that Veronica Mars would be calling you?" Sheriff Lamb questioned Dick, holding up the phone. "Checking you in on the progress of your little Logan Over the Cuckoos Nest perhaps?"

"Veronica?" Madison glared at Dick, her mouth gaping open. "WHY AREYOU GETTING CALLS FROM VERONICA MARS?"

"I don't know why she's calling" Dick protested as Madison shoved his arm. "I don't know! I have no idea!"

"Well… lets just find out together then shall we?" Lamb sneered as he answered call and put it onto speaker phone.

"Dick? Are you there?" Veronica's voice asked over the phone.

"Uhh… yeah… Sup? Ronnie… listen… do you know where Logan is?" Dick asked.

"No… that's actually why I was calling, you haven't seen him?" she asked and he shook his head.

"It's not a video call!" Madison snapped, honestly he could be such a big dumb blonde sometimes. "No Veronica.. no one has seen Logan, so go skank call someone else's boyfriend and stop ruining my party!" she said hanging up the phone. "Happy now?" she demanded from Lamb before she turned and stomped back towards the house. "HEY! That Bag is Gucci… it costs more than you make in a year, if you have so much as abused a single stitch you will be hearing from my fathers attorney" she barked at Deputy Briar.

"Okay look dude… you believe me now? Can I have back my phone?" Dick asked.

"We should call Mom…" his younger brother Cassidy complained for the third time since the cops had began to raid Madisons parents house.

"No need… I just had an idea…" the Sheriff said, puffing out his chest as he tossed the phone back to Dick and began to stride back to his car.

"Sir?" Officer Ryan's asked as he followed him.

"Get a search out for that car belonging to Veronica Mars… I don't buy it. More I think about it, we should have just started looking there first. Pack this up" he said gesturing towards all the kegs and bottles of alcohol. "Leave it back at my place, I'm going to call over and visit Keith, there's no way he doesn't know what his daughters up to" Lamb said as he opened the door to his car and climbed in.

***Sheriff Lamb this is Dispatch, we have reports of underage drinking going on down by Dog Beach… Please advise***

Rubbing his temples Lamb sighed, he hated working Saturday nights, this is why he was usually watching the game and eating pizza from Donatello's with his brothers. He flicked the radio off, Dog Beach was in the opposite direction of Sunset Crescent Apartments where he was going, besides it was in the 03 area code of Neptune, he hated going down there, the cases were never easy, always burglaries and dead hookers.

He looked at the most recent call list from his cell phone he'd forgotten in the car.

District Attorney Forcher. The Mayors right hand man, and all round unofficial press liason.

The last straw on an awful night.


	29. Chapter 29

Karmina - All the kings horses.

"Okay so there's been a slight problem" Weevil sighed as he hung up the phone and cast a wary look at an expectant Veronica Mars.

"Problem? What kind of problem? Where is my CAR Weevil?" she demanded as she put her hands on her hips and several of the other PCHers sniggered in amusement.

She _needed_ her car.

"Relax… it's in one piece. It's just been impounded by our delightful Sheriff Lamb. According to Matteo, he's looking for you. Him and Shiv got pulled over on their way here" Weevil explained as he stared at the petite blonde in front of him.

"¡No mames! Son unas mamadas." Hector growled.

"The GPS tracker is IN my car…" she exclaimed, her mind snapping onto a vision of it sitting in the dark backpack in the below her passenger seat. So was her laptop… and without it, she couldn't trace the Blue Moon or access the databases to do a search for leads.

 _No… No… No…_

"Yeah well he's just arrested two of my boys on suspicion of grand theft auto" Weevil countered, frowning at the petite blonde pacing in front of him.

"¿Qué onda wey?" Elec asked Weevil.

"Te lo juro! ¡Es neta!" he replied as began to scroll through his contacts to see if Jose had seen anything else going on down at the rave. "Shiv directed them straight into a blockade"

"Pinche Havier ¡Qué idiota!" Elec sighed. "Debería buscarlo"

"¿Qué chingados esta pasando aqui? Why would Sheriff Lamb be looking for you?" Thumper questioned suspiciously, frowning as his dark gaze trained on Veronica.

"I don't know…" Veronica answered, her voice was thick with irritation. Her mind frantically trying not to panic as she tried to process this new information.

Logan was missing. Jake Kane was in town seemingly involved in some clandestine dealings with the Russian Mafioso, and Sheriff Lamb was looking for her and now she had no car, or way to track the yacht.

 _What the hell was she going to do now?_

No one had seen Logan. He wasn't picking up his cell. Wallace had texted to confirm that there had been no sign of him reported by his Basketball teammates or any of the cheerleaders.

He'd just…. Vanished.

 _No. Not Vanished. Taken… and all contact left a trace._

 _Something…_

"Start at the beginning Honey" she heard her dads voice advise her like he'd used to when she was younger and working on a problem. "If you can't start at the end… work your way back to the point where there was something concrete that you KNOW to be true… then deduce from there"

Things she knew.

Logan had last been seen at the Burrito bar where his car was found. She should retrace her steps, there had to be something, a camera, a traffic stop. Someone had to have seen something.

They had to.

He couldn't just be gone. She had to find him.

"I have to call my dad…." she murmured to herself.

"Your dad?" Elec queried with an arched brow, crossing his arms across his muscled chest.

"You ain't calling no one" Thumper argued, stepping into her space and reaching for her phone.

"Back off!" Veronica warned as she moved the phone out of his reach.

"You gonna stand for this Ese?" Thumper demanded as he crowded her space.

"That murdering son-of-a-bitch Echolls is the problem, not Veronica" Weevil defended as he stepped between them and squared up to his gang-mate.

"¡chinga su madre wey!" Hector complained. "es una Fresa"

"Ella es muy fresa, ¿verdad?" one of the other guys behind Thumper agreed as he raked his gaze over her in that masculine way that guys usually did when they were imagining you thrashing naked beneath them.

'Oí que estás embarazada. ¿Es neta?' asked the third. She was used to these baseless accusations and rumours, even though she had gotten back together with Duncan during the summer, there had been rumours that she'd seduced him behind Megs back and trapped him and was expecting his baby. She guessed she could thank Madison Sinclair for that particular masterpiece.

Veronica gritted her teeth in anger as Weevil tried to calm his compadres. She'd been dealing with this attitude from the PCHers ever since she'd gotten back together with Duncan. They'd accused her of choosing sides, the gang had a very much a with-us or against-us mentality, and she couldn't claim neutrality anymore, it was hard to stay impartial when she knew they were wrong about Logan.

"Ella es buena onda. We have to get Matteo and Havier out" Weevil soothed his friend and nodded as Elec headed towards his truck to go and pick up his younger cousin from Sheriff Lambs delightful hospitality.

"Vayan ustedes, pero prefiero no meterme en eso, hay demasiados metiches" Hector grumbled. "I say we let Lamb handle that 09er prick" his brown eyes glaring at Veronica.

Yep. She was definitely in hostile territory.

 _What the Hell had she been thinking coming here without back up?_

"Look I can't stay here… I have to get Home, I need to figure out why Jake Kane took Logan" Veronica pleaded as she interrupted Weevil.

"No puede ser, que jalada toda esa historia, ¿como quieres que te crea?" Thumper laughed.

"Eres tan pendejo" Veronica spat at him.

"¡No me chingues! Blondie… I don't give a damn about you" he replied coldly before he turned his gaze back to Weevil.

"And you are the last of my worries tonight, so back off" she glared. Showing any kind of weakness in front of a guy like Thumper was a mistake, he'd log it for future use, and something told her he was going to be a bigger problem in the future. Elec seemed to think so as he watched the exchange between the two men closely.

"I don't care what you do, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to find out what the Mafiosa was doing down by the Docks, someones gotta tell Valetta that the shipment is gonna be late" he shrugged casually to Weevil before backing off and walking back up the steps before the apartment complex with two of his friends flanking him. "Mandilón" he cursed under his breath, but Veronica knew that Weevil still heard the insult.

"Aguas con los perros. Chairo" Elec said quietly to Weevil as he pulled the truck to a stop just in front of them. He turned to Veronica and grinned adding "Estas bien buena güera." Before he pulled away and left them standing there.

Shaking his head in disgust. "Hasta la madre, Jetona" he grumbled as he looked at Veronica before Hector turned and followed the rest of the guys upstairs back towards the party starting to form on the ground floor apartment. Grabbing a beer from another PCHer whom Veronica didn't recognize and turning his back on Weevil.

"What was that about?" Veronica asked warily. She'd never seen Weevil be so blatantly challenged before, last year when she'd hung around with them, his reign had been absolute. He was beloved, ever since Felix's death… it's like there was more tension in the PCHer ranks than ever. Either he was distracted by his friends murder, or the new transfers last year from Weller Public Academy were trying to instigate a regime change. Either way, it left her feeling deeply unsettled.

There had been rumours of PCHer plots against someone for weeks, she'd assumed it had been directed at Logan, but maybe it was more complicated than that? Should she be worried about Weevil too?

"Not your business" Weevil cautioned her firmly.

"Chichi's por la banda!" another drunken gang member called out to them.

"Friend of yours?" she complained, crossing her arms to cover her chest. She felt vulnerable here, exposed. She had to get out of here.

"Do you think Duncan's helping Logan to skip town?" Weevil demanded ignoring her question.

"No… I don't know… it was Duncan who called ME to find out where he was" she said shaking her head, she'd barely had time to process what she had seen in those pictures but there was no way her ex-boyfriend would reach out to her unless he honestly had no idea where Logan was. "He didn't take cash, there's been no activity on his phone. If someone was helping him… surely he'd have… I don't know. Prepared or something?" she reasoned. Remembering how Duncan had withdrawn a large amount of money before his disappearance last year. Logan didn't know how to disappear like that, he was too impulsive.

Running wasn't really his style. He was confrontational… she recalled the day he'd smashed the headlights in on his car. Logan would rather take on a jury of his peers than run. Logan Echolls belonged only to himself.

"He was taken" she told Weevil firmly.

"By who? Jake Kane?" he asked incredulously, the blistering scorn evident in his tone. "Thumper is right… it DOES sound ridiculous"

"Occam's Razor" she replied.

The theory that the simplest answer was quite often the right one.

"Then why would Kane be helping the son of the man who murdered his daughter?" Weevil sighed.

"He… wouldn't?" Veronica deduced. Yes the Kane's had helped Logan get in touch with his fathers high priced lawyers this summer… but they'd done everything they could to discourage Duncan from having anything to do with Logan, or her. She'd suspected there had been something amiss with the hearing. That there had been something Logan wasn't being completely honest with her about, he'd told her he didn't remember anything.

 _But she could live and die by the pretty lies he'd told her that summer._

There was more going on here. Parts of this she couldn't see, and without her laptop and GPS she was stuck rolling the variables of this puzzle around in her head trying to make them fit.

What could she control?

She could get away from here and the leering stares of the PCHers for one thing. She had to stay away from Lamb. Murder made this the right time to focus, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she was racing against the clock.

"There was several witnesses! He's a murderer V…" Weevil exhaled in an angry huff.

Witnesses… witnesses…

YES!

 _"If you can't start at the end… work your way back to the point where there was something concrete that you KNOW to be true… then deduce from there"_

"I have to get to the docks" she breathed grabbing the pictures from Weevils hand again. She didn't have to go back to the burrito bar at all. If those mobsters had had something to do with Logan's disappearance… there must be some kind of trace left behind at the docks. Otherwise why were they there? The pictures could help narrow her search. She had a lead.

"What?" Weevil frowned, as he watched snapping pictures eagerly with her phone.

"I need to call my dad" she breathed and stepped away from him.

"You aren't getting the Sheriff involved in this" Weevil said, shaking his head and pulling her phone out of her hand.

"Hey!" she said, trying to pull it back.

"Think smart, don't get involved in gang business… if you think they want to hurt you now… you wait until you interfere in their payday" he sighed as he began to delete the pictures. A combination of training and instinct making sure that he made a show of erasing the images in front of his gang. He'd just about had it with her attitude, part of him would never admit it, but he was fond of the petite blonde. If he allowed himself, he'd even say his feelings were was a definite weakness. If she weren't such an 09er groupie they could be their own little investigative team with teeth. Elec had been right about one thing… she sure did have a hot body.

The only guaranteed things in this life were death and change, and he could already feel the shift in his ranks. She was his Achilles heel, but he still had to do what it took to protect her. Even from her own blindspots sometimes.

The Kane's had orchestrated some serious shit when they'd thought Duncan had murdered his sister, sent an innocent man to death row to keep him clean. Who knew what they'd do to Veronica if she got messed up on the wrong side with them? It was a waste of breath to argue.

He hoped she got the message. She couldn't be leading Keith Mars, former Sheriff of Neptune to the gangs main hot spot, and she sure as hell couldn't go taking pictures of their pickup points.

"You gain nothing by going there… so you find evidence of a hostage moment. It doesn't accomplish anything, for all you know they have him out on that boat" he said dismissively tucking the pictures back into his pocket and giving her back her phone.

"Then I need to find the boat" she breathed.

 _His little angelfish… in such a hurry to take on the piranhas._

"And how exactly do you plan to do that if Lamb has your GPS?" he retorted pettishly, his eyes even more calculating now. His eyes challenging her to deny it. "Google it?"

"By asking Duncan" she replied simply before pocketing her phone and walking away from him.

"Didn't any warn you that the easy way is always mined?" Weevil said rolling his shoulders. Trust Veronica to suggest walking right into the lions den. First rule of combat… if the enemy was in range, so were you. He wished she'd just walk away from this investigation, to stop circling the drain for this psychotic jackass.

He'd put her through Hell in the year since Lilly had died, and STILL she refused to give up on him. It's like she had some kind of Echolls induced mental defect. He already knew he was going to end up following this through with her, Heck, Lamb was probably already on his way here to ask him where she was since he'd picked up two of his crew driving her car. It wouldn't be the smartest idea to hang around as it was if he didn't want to end up in an interrogation room himself.

The pain of his past refused to just lay down and die, and every time he was around her, he remembered Lilly. Those life-altering, soul wrenching promises he'd made to always protect his girl. Lilly was gone… but Veronica was still here. That ash-blonde hair as she reached for the helmet on her bike momentarily made her look like she was Lillys ghost. His second chance. Open hostility between them both could be put aside for the moment.

He gave her a smirk at the smug-looking sidewards sway of her hips as she glanced over at him expectantly.

His little Hellcat.

He pulled his keys from his pocket and shook his head.

 _How did she always end up twisting him around her finger like this?_

He didn't pulled out his phone and dialed his contact in the security team at the Neptune Grand Hotel. He didn't exactly want to explain to Veronica why he had a contact there, but he got the information they needed.

"Duncan's at the Neptune Sacred Heart Memorial" he told her before he climbed on his bike and waited for her to wrap her slender arms around his waist. He tried to fight off the images of an alternative, all black, all attitude couture version of her just leaving Neptune behind with him on an adrenaline fuelled road trip away from all this insanity. Away from lost lovers, and dead friends. Away from a future trapped walking the thin line of the seedy underbelly of Neptune.

It rarely worked out for people like them.


	30. Chapter 30

His large hand enveloped her small wrist, he was suffering from beginnings of caffeine withdrawal. He wasn't a good guy.

If he had been… he'd have stood by Meg and she'd have told him about the baby. She wouldn't be fighting for her life.

He'd broken her heart to get back together with Veronica… for nothing. She'd dumped him, and Meg spent what could have been the last few months of her life feeling isolated and alone.

Duncan rubbed his temples. It had been several hours since Deputy Sachs had arrived at his penthouse in the Neptune Grand to ask where Logan was. Figures he'd skip town just after he'd thrown a grenade at everything he'd cared about.

Just when he'd thought they had finally reached something worth holding onto after all the grief they'd suffered. He'd hated Logan for so long… Lillys death hadn't been his fault, but losing his sister… he was related to the person who'd done it, and for the whole summer long. It had been reason enough. Then they'd began to mend fences, or so he'd thought. Veronica dumped him. Logan betrayed him and abandoned him and the one person who'd stuck by him… he'd failed.

Meg lay there like a sleeping angel, her swollen stomach obvious under the blankets.

Lizzy had come to him just after the Deputy had left… apparently now he was single, she felt he'd a right to know about his impending fatherhood.

He was alone. His parents had thought he'd kills his own sister, and as much as he appreciated that they'd tried to protect him… he couldn't be around them without feeling that chasm of where his sister should be. He hadn't reached out to his mother yet. Teen pregnancies weren't exactly on their plans for his future. He rubbed his thumb over the smooth skin on the back of Megs hand.

 _Why couldn't he just have loved her the way she deserved?_

 _Why did Veronica still have such a hold on him?_

Memories threatened to burst out of him like a water destroying dam. His lips pulled into a grimace until they were nothing more than a thin white line when he realised that he wasn't alone.

"What do you want?" he ground out as he caught sight of Veronica's short stature as she entered the room sheepishly. By now she was bound to learn the truth as he had just hours ago. She wasn't alone he noticed as he turned and saw Eli Navarro standing by the doorway.

Her eyes were transfixed on the comatose girl on the bed, her eyes flashing to his with a million searching questions. Her lips parted slightly in shock.

 _Had he known? How had this happened? Was she okay?_

He didn't know what to answer first, but frankly after their break up. It was none of her damn business.

Meg may have been her friend, but ultimately, she probably wouldn't have ended up here if it wasn't for her. The thought twisted around in his head, and left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Veronica was flush with embarrassment as she cast a quick glance towards Weevil who had raised his eyebrows in surprise. Squirming slightly as Duncan repeated his question to know what the hell she wanted.

"I haven't seen Logan… and honestly, I don't care where he is. I've more important things going on, as I'm sure you can clearly see" he said standing and crossing his arms.

 _Did she even care seeing Meg like this?_ He wondered. It certainly wouldn't have been the easiest thing for their relationship.

The harsh words ricocheted through her. No way was Duncan going to be willing to help her now. He was looking at her, arms folded in a defensive pose. Scorn pouring from him as he stood protectively in front of Meg.

Veronica had a million things she wanted to ask. She wanted to sit by Megs side, to call her doctors, to check the chart.

 _How far along was she? Had she known before the bus crash? Why hadn't she said anything?_

Weevil cleared his throat, and it shook her out of the momentary glitch in her mission.

He hadn't seen Logan. He didn't know where he was.

Did he know his father was in Neptune? Did he know why? Was she wrong and Jake Kane was really in Neptune because of the latest revelation about Meg Manning's condition?

Her stomach was now a mass of quivering muscles as panic crept up into her. She apologised for the intrusion and excused herself to the bathroom. Patting cold water over her face. She had to regroup. Her long fair hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and her face was now devoid of make up. She looked sickly, she thought as she studied her reflection. Memories of the bus crash coming back to her, the sight of the yellow frame disappearing into the water. Her combative relationship with Weevil had saved her life that day. She'd been arguing with him and missed getting back onto it before it had sped along the coastal roads before ending up over the side. Her small hands clutched the side of sink as she inhaled a deep breath.

 _Meg was pregnant… with Duncan's baby._

She couldn't process this right now. She had to focus. Dousing the blistering panic with ice-cold common sense. She couldn't very well get Duncan's help if she accused his father of abducting Logan. It might spook Jake if he really HAD taken Logan and she'd lost the element of surprise. Trying to break into the Sheriffs impound lot would land her in lock up with Lamb faster than she wanted, and the asshole would keep her there just to prove a point. Especially now she was 18. So she had to find another way. Had to stay one step ahead of Lamb. Which meant she couldn't go home or reach out to her dad. Lamb would be monitoring that.

If she couldn't get Duncan to give her the GPS login for his father's boat and she didn't have access to her computer… she was going to have to try it another way. Probably by doing something highly illegal.

 _Good thing you brought your very own Criminal Element… you might need some tutoring in how to break and enter._ She thought as she fixed her clothes.

She was going to need Macs help. She didn't know the first thing about hacking into a GPS locator without her dads software.

Weevil observed the petite blonde coming out of the bathroom and fell into step beside her as she walked towards the elevator leaving Duncan sitting beside Meg. He was about ready to demand she cough up some kind of a plan by throwing his weight around if he had to.

"How do you feel about breaking into the Marina?" Veronica asked cautiously when they were alone.

"Sounds like a Tuesday" he replied casually. His eyes like black diamonds as he watched her carefully. "You really ready to go full out bad girl because of Logan Echolls?" he asked softly.

"Yes" her voice faltered a little.

So she was a little unsure of her plan, but the angle of her jaw told him she was determined to see this through.

"Why?" he asked, frowning.

 _What the hell had Logan Echolls ever done to deserve such unrelenting loyalty?_

"Because I told you… he's innocent"

( I know... its a little slow paced, they are getting there!)


	31. Chapter 31

(Song for this scene - Ben Howard – Promises. Or Fink – Looking Too Closely.)

***Author Note... it takes time for a plan to come together!***

Neptune thought Jake Kane was wholesome as a Hallmark movie. Even now his defense team was painting him in the media as a father overwrought with grief trying to protect his poor son from what he had assumed was a tragic accident resulting in the death of his sister. The cover-up involving a pay-out to Amelia Koontz on behalf of her father giving a false confession was almost being painted as an act of benevolence of one father trying to help a dying man to provide for his family. No amount of truth about him would ever be enough to turn the adoring public away from him. There was no way she would get anyone to listen to her about Logan's disappearance. She wanted to rip her own skin off just to breathe.

The idea of losing Logan made her feel like she was going to become untethered.

"Your father is super mad right now Superfly… this is exactly the kind of situation I didn't want to be in when our parents started dating" Wallace sighed in a mixture of agitation and worry. "You got any idea why Lamb is looking for you?"

"Wild guess? He probably thinks he can link me to Logan's disappearance" Veronica muttered but it was mostly non-committal. Who knew at this point? Was he in Jake Kane's pocket? How deeply did this Rot at the Neptune Justice System go?

 _Money could buy you a multitude of sins…_

Hell, even Monopoly was considered just a board game these days.

The Devil was right there in the details, she just couldn't see them all… maybe she was looking too closely?

She couldn't lose Logan. She'd just realized that she couldn't bare to put her arms around anybody else… the truth of it was like blood under her fingernails… she'd never get it clean.

It took every ounce of her not to crumble as the mere idea of his loss turned her bones to water.

What she wouldn't give for some Liquid courage… she hadn't really touched a drop since Shelley Pomoroys party. One thing was clear.

There would be no sleep tonight.

Not until she found him.

There were so many things she'd never said out loud.

She loved him too… she had to see him.

 _She had to hold him close… she had to tell him… She needed to see the understanding in his eyes as he heard it… she had to **know** that he **knew** that about them… _

_He had never been a mistake… her only mistake had been not fighting hard enough…_

She paced the small slipway beside the harbour office and looked at her watch again.

"Would you relax already?" Weevil complained. "You are even making me feel twitchy.."

"Mac should be here by now" she murmured as she re-did the mental calculations for her cyber-hacktivist friends travel time from her house to their current location.

She was late… anxiety had Veronica checking her phone for the fourth time in the last 6 minutes. Rolling his eyes Weevil pulled the device out of her hand.

"If Lamb is looking for you… you might as well be holding a neon sign and doing the hula naked with this thing" he warned as he turned the phone off and slipped it into his pocket.

Images of Logan Echolls had been circulating on the National News for the last forty-five minutes after the death of Aaron Echolls had made headlines, as unashamedly glad Weevil was of the demise of the bastard who had murdered Lilly had been, the new information added with the disappearance of his son Logan Echolls had the petite blonde detective acting like a panicked pet in the back of a car being told it was being taken to the Vets.

He wasn't sure if it was related, but it didn't take a Doctorate to understand that with the emergence of Jake Kane, something was going on behind the scenes that wasn't going to make it public.

Logan would see Justice for what he did to Felix… but it would be the RIGHT way… his mother would get her day in court. He'd promised as much. No one was going to steal this from his friend, he deserved justice the right way, it was the least he could do for his friend. Right now his agenda and Veronica's aligned.

He didn't know why she had such blind faith in Echolls, but right now shit didn't add up, and he was smart enough to see that. She made a move to protest, to demand her phone back as the headlights of a familiar small car pulled into the alleyway where they waited.

Weevil wasn't exactly sure why they had called the short brunette for reinforcements, it wasn't like she knew how to pick a lock, but Veronica insisted that she could help them get the information that they needed so he wasn't one to argue. The plan of getting the GPS information out of Duncan Kane had disappeared the second that they'd appeared on that intensive care maternity ward, although personally he had no problems with shaking that 09er asshole until he sang like a canary, the fair-haired gumshoe riding shotgun had issues with it so he didn't press the issue.

"Thank God you are here" Veronica breathed as she pulled the other girl into a fierce hug.

"Ummm yeah… I answer to many equal opportunity deities" Mac replied as she awkwardly one armed returned the hug, holding a laptop briefcase in the other.

"Can we move this along please?" Weevil requested impatiently.

"Best not to hang around" Mac agreed as she patted her laptop case.

"You think you can track it?" Veronica asked, her brows scrunching up in uncertainty as Weevil made quick work of disarming the alarm system by short circuiting the wiring.

It was almost embarrassing the things that could be circumvented by the correct application of magnets and a pair of wire cutters. The keypad faded to a soft grey and he nodded that it was safe, companies like this barely even bothered adding an old fashioned lock and key after the application of Magnetic locks like the one he'd just made light work of.

The criminal connoisseur in him was a little offended at their lack of imagination. Breaking through metallic pin a lock was an art really, and he was a Picasso... Damn Technological upgrades… they would have about 20 minutes before the system reset itself. More than enough time to get the information they needed and be long gone before anyone was any the wiser.

"You sure it's in here?" Veronica asked nervously.

"Told you V, they keep the details of this stuff for the Coast Guard like insurance companies record VIN numbers on cars" Weevil assured her as he reached for the large filing cabinet and began to pick the lock. Most of the 09ers kept details of their GPS on file here at the slipway in case of an emergency. There was always some Audit Loving Health and Safety freak out there insisting on records for "Insurance Purposes" that made people create nifty files like this that made his illegal enterprises so much easier.

It was just a case of finding the right code for the Blue Moon and giving it to Mac… then all they had to do was find a public untraceable wifi connection… like most of those found in any unprotected 07er+ area code home and VOILA… they could track the yacht where Jake Kane was hiding out.

He wasn't quite sure that he'd taken Logan, but the Mars Family was rarely wrong about anything.

He'd learned that from almost a decade trying to outsmart Sheriff Mars, it took a particular kind of talent to keep that kind of Investigative Skill on its toes, and she nothing if not her father's daughter. That family had sass and a stubborn tenacity to move mountains.

He just had to stay in step with her, and he'd drag Echolls back to lock up and he'd see his day in court for Felix. He supposed he should feel a little guilty as he watched an eager Veronica pour over the codes to find the right ship information in search of her lost lover.

 _He couldn't save her from her own stupidity…_

"Here!" she breathed in relief as she scribbled the number down for Mac and then abandoned the file on the counter as she looked over the other girls shoulder. Rolling his eyes, he put picked it up again.

Lesson one in criminal enterprise, Mars? Cover your tracks. He murmured to himself as he closed the cabinet and checked his watch.

"I'm in" Mac announced as several lines of code and maps began to pop up on the screen. He watched as what appeared to be the current location of the Blue Moon popped up on the screen, approximately an hours sail from their current location.

"It's them…" Veronica said quietly.

"Yeah… but how exactly do you expect to get there?" Weevil asked peevishly. "Unless you got some kind of boat license I ain't heard about, there isn't a lot we can do with this information… what you think Lamb is just going to accept your theory about Jake Kane abducting Logan?" he scoffed.

"No… we need a boat" Veronica said shaking her head.

"Yeah… I don't exactly have one of those lying around" Mac replied dejectedly slouching back in her chair. She was lucky the software upgrade in her laptop had been up to the task of hacking the encryption as fast as it had.

Why in all the chaos of everything going had she not thought of the obvious?

She didn't know how to charter a boat yet alone drive one.

 _It couldn't exactly be rocket science could it? She'd ROW out there on a rubber dingy if she had to…_

"Fuck… I'm going to hate myself for even suggesting this…" Weevil said through gritted teeth as he pulled Veronica's phone out of his leather jacket pocket.

"What?" Veronica asked, wide-eyed.

"Casablanca's. He called you earlier remember?" Weevil suggested as he handed her the phone.

It was true, Dick had tried calling her earlier, but she'd not called him back in case it was a ruse from Lamb. He might be scatter brain… but he and Cassidy were the school and Neptune Beach Bath and Tennis Country Club record holders for Yachting in Neptune. Their yacht might very well have been impounded by the IRS after their fathers business dealings became public knowledge… but he definitely had the skills she needed right now.

 _How exactly did someone hot-wire a boat?_

"I need to borrow your phone" Veronica pleaded with Mac. She knew from watching the two of them that Cassidy and Mac had gotten quite friendly over the last few months.

"Please don't make me regret this…" she breathed as she handed the other girl her phone and watched Weevil disconnect the Alarm disrupting magnets. She glanced up to where his t shirt was covering the cctv camera, how on Earth had he gotten it up there?

 _Why on Earth had it taken her until now to realize that the Hot Bad Boy on Wheels was practically shirtless?_

"Cassidy?" Veronica asked hurriedly. "Is Dick with you?"

Rubbing the tension from the back of his neck, he mentally calculated his jail time if this went sideways as the teen detective began to speak quickly to the blonde 09er. If he had any sense, he'd bow out now, and anonymously tip off the Sheriff's Department and live to fight another day.

The thought of trying to follow him now made him feel like James Bond or a villain, taking part in a thrilling chase. It was all too High Octane for his liking…

He made awkward eye contact with Cindy 'Mac' McKenzie as she nervously cradled her laptop in her arms. Turns out the small rebel was a cyber space bad ass he smirked, the corner of his mouth kicking up a notch as he regarded her with a new sense of respect. _Hell on a Keyboard._

 _Just when he was thinking there was very little chicks could do to keep surprising him…_ as he gave her the barest hint of a smile, not many girls were immune to the Latin machismo of his crew.

"Yeah… but I've no idea how to get to him without your boat" Veronica affirmed in dismay as Weevil refocused on her conversation.

"Okay… so I might know where you can get hold of one" Dick grumbled reluctantly. The memory of Madisons temper tantrum as she'd scrunched up her nose and stamped her foot when he prematurely left her party to see if Logan was at that poker table again was making him hesitant to share all the details.

"Really?" Veronica asked as she locked gaze with Weevil as his amber eyes regarded her with that splintering intensity.

"Yeah… he won a 2015 Sunseeker Manhattan 65 in a poker game last week, sort of very off the books… he's had me holding onto it in case Lamb tried on of his Raids… I suppose I could check it out" Dick admitted.

"Logan has had access to an unregistered boat?" Veronica asked, doubt beginning to creep in.

 _He was gambling again?_

She briefly remembered his court appointed rehab after the troubles with his mother's death. What else wasn't he telling her?

"It's not so much a boat as a scrap metal… it's a 2015… barely worth the paperwork" Dick murmured absently.

"Can you pilot it?" she asked.

"If you mean Skipper it… sure. Hell I could even teach you to crew it" he scoffed.

"Good… I'll meet you in 20 minutes" Veronica commanded.

"Wait… you don't seriously think that Logan and Jake Kane are in cahoots to help him skip town do you?" Dick joked as if he found the idea absurd, but finding an odd sense of protectiveness roused by her words. He didn't particularly like Veronica… He remembered the mess Logan had become when he'd found out that she'd gotten back together with Duncan. He'd never known a girl to so completely demolish a guy without even so much as batting an eye-lid.

"I think Logan might not even HAVE 20 minutes… Dick… are you going to help me or not?" she pressed as her heard galloped like a wild horse.

"I'd rather laugh in your face if your wrong than risk you being right" he answered solemnly before asking for the details as he pulled the keys with the hula girl dancer keyring out of his pocket.

He had no desire to play Sir Galahad to the Fair Maiden, Veronica Mars was the least of his worries, right now his friend was missing he thought as he looked over his shoulder at his little brother who was watching television and back again at the blank screen on his phone, bolder this time.

 _Madison was going to be so pissed with him…_

Always Bros before Hoes.


	32. Chapter 32

"You don't even know he's definitely on that boat. We still going with Chasing Maverick here?" Weevil asked as Veronica rifled through the small bag that Mac had brought along with her. He wasn't going to leave her alone, ever since Lilly had passed he'd sort of made it his unofficial job to look out for the blond petite sleuth.

 _Even if it meant he had to get onto a boat with Dick Casablancas…_

Guess now was the wrong time to mention that fear he'd always had of the ocean.

"Well so far he hasn't been found anywhere else" she countered. Mac had just finished searching through the ridiculously unsecure Neptune Sheriff's Department computer system and they currently had a live feed of the transcripts from the radio control office.

No sightings. Multiple National and Local Press Officials demanding to speak to Sheriff Lamb regarding the Aaron Echolls suicide at the County Prison.

 _They thought it was a suicide?_

Nothing about the man who had tried to burn her alive in that fridge freezer had seemed like he would have just given up. The last time he'd had a television interview, he had practically been rehearsing his victory speech. The guy had Career Comeback and Book Deals written all over his face. Reminding her that so many sociopaths were charming.

Self-Perseveration and Self Promotion were basically the same words in his vocabulary. His instinct to protect his own interests had extended to the murder of Lilly Kane, and the attempted murder of Veronica Mars and her father. No way would he have killed himself. He was Self-Interest on two legs.

 _Everything felt wrong._

Like time was slipping through the hourglass.

"I got the keys.. They should be getting delivered to us soon" Dick announced as he disconnected the call he'd been making as he walked over to them. He'd called the hot chick who tended bar at The Mermaid Inn to have them driven to the narrow slipway. He wasn't that familiar with the _cheaper_ part of the Marina, it was quaint.

His usual slipway had a VIP locked gate, and a security office and keypad access codes. Complimentary Members Club sandwich bar if you bought a few bait buckets, which he'd been known to do when he and Beeves had gone out deep-sea fishing with their father and his clientele.

Of course, he'd lost access to his boat after his dad had taken off when that scandal broke about the Ponzi scheme. His mother was still touring around Europe after her brief visit to unlock their trust funds. Not that Dick had much time for her; she had that same kind of self-righteous do-gooder attitude that Veronica had, except when it came to her children.

Richard Casablancas Senior had married into a wealthy aristocratic family, only took a few years and two kids later before he'd secured alimony and full time custody and granted his ex-wife the divorce for a sizable pay out without contesting the prenup. Dick didn't blame his mother for leaving after he'd been old enough to understand the affairs, he just couldn't forgive her for walking out on him and Beeves. He'd never admit it, but part of his misogynistic attitude towards the fairer sex probably had a lot to do with his abandonment issues.

None of that mattered right now, Logan was missing, and as annoying as Ms Martian could be, she was like an antibiotic resistant rash that just wouldn't quit when she was onto something. He didn't trust her not to be a bitch… he just trusted her not to be wrong.

She rarely ever was. Small in stature and big in personality.

Madison might be a bitch, but she was upfront about it.

Bros over Hoes.

It was the creed the Casablancas men lived by. Women were transitional in his world, and Logan was his best friend. He'd put up with dealing with his ex-girlfriend if it meant checking that he was alright, he'd grown worried after he had gotten free of Lamb searching his car checked that gambling bar and been unable to find Logan.

"Delivered?" Weevil questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"What are they doing here?" Dick demanded.

"You think I'm going to let her go do something this reckless without backup?" Weevil snorted as if it should have been obvious.

 _More like the Diversity quota of their little rag-tag band of misfits… all the way down to the that token weird girl. Fine, let him play Sir Galahad to the Fair Maiden. He wasn't why he'd agreed to this._

"Yeah… well what about Wednesday Adams?" Dick complained, pointing at the short brunette girl he'd seen a few times talking with his younger brother.

"Uhh I'm tech support" Mac answered shyly as she looked over her screen at him. Dick Casablancas, her very own high school bully. He tormented her in almost every class they shared together, if only he wasn't also captain of the school swim team, and basically the closest thing her school had to a Hemsworth under that shirt. Not to mention he was Madison Sinclairs boyfriend.

 _Was it totally wrong to be harbouring a self-destructive crush on your pseudo-boyfriends older brother who bullied you on a regular basis?_

Probably. But it didn't change the fact that as great as she was at sailing her way through the interwebs of cyber connection. This wasn't her area of expertise. Her dad would bring the family down once a year to the Marina with her grandfather and they would rent a small boat to go fishing, but she'd never taken lessons. Mac knew next to nothing about boats other than they sucked if they couldn't float… at least that's what the Titanic movie had taught her.

They needed him.

"Okay… Like an on-board GPS, cool. I usually just use my phone." Dick shrugged as he shifted his Iphone 8 into his other hand and went back to ignoring her. Seeming dismissed in favour of the attractive blonde.

 _Jerk. Drawn to pretty girls like scum to a bathtile._ Mac thought angrily as she rolled her eyes.

"Where are the keys now?" Veronica asked as she put down the small Walmart bag she was holding and handed the rest to Weevil who retrieved a bottle of water.

"Would you relax? They are coming" Dick assured her as he watched her pull on a dark grey hoodie and a small pair of gloves. He looked down his own attire, bright blue Hawaiian shirt, Billabong shorts and a plain white t-shirt topped off with his Timberland boat shoes. Next to this lot, he looked like Adam Sandler.

 _He should have grabbed a pizza on the way over here…_ Dick thought absently as his stomach rumbled. Those little crepe platters Madison usually put on during her parties never hit the mark, what the hell was wrong with Pigs-in-Blankets?

"You haven't heard from him?" Veronica asked, exhaling an impatient huff, crossing her arms.

"No. No one has. Lamb said his phone was found near his car, but he thinks he ditched it" Dick said, rolling his shoulders uncomfortably and running his fingers through his mussed-up blonde hair. He hadn't been worried at first, thinking that Logan had decided to snip the cord on his ankle monitor like they joked about a few weeks ago when he'd been going to visit Serena Carnelian, a cheerleader from Pam High. He'd been on a self-destructive path lately, but sometimes, you just needed to fuck a stranger. Then the deputies and Sheriff Lamb had shown up, and the hours had stretched by with no word from him at all, then he'd gone to that bar with the smart-ass bartender, and still there'd been no sign of Logan.

"How is nobody so sure that he just didn't take himself to the Coronado bridge?" Weevil interjected.

"Hey! You shut your mouth!" Dick glowered at the shorter man, his blue eyes locked on his with a splintering intensity. His heart galloping like a wild horse at the mere suggestion.

Logan wouldn't do that.

He remembered the pep talk he'd given Logan that night he'd spent at his house after he'd gotten out on bail. When he'd asked what Logan been doing out there on that bridge, and he'd sworn to him that if he ever felt that way again that he'd come find him.

They were brothers. They had a pact.

Suicide was never the answer, it removed the options. Life could always improve. Remove the life, and you removed the possibility for anything good to ever happen again.

Logan hadn't told him the whole story of the things that had gone down with his dad, but when Duncan had bailed on them this summer, he'd done the lions share of patching his best friend together. Even if Veronica had almost succeeded in ripping it all down when she'd broken up with his friend. He gave her a long look, full of conviction.

No way had Logan thought anything like that, he assured himself as the dark leaden ache settled in his chest. Logan might have a weakness for Veronica, any idiot could see that, but he'd been too full of life recently, a harem of drooling girls flitting around him.

No. No way.

 _Although… the recent news about his dad all over the radio… but he'd been missing for hours before that…_

Veronica's eyes flickered up to meet his. Her chin set mutinously as he gave her a speculative sweep. She didn't think he'd do it either. He could see the wheels turning in her blue eyes. He knew she thought he was the human equivalent of an overexcited puppy. He lived life with as zero stress as possible. He knew part of her hated him for lying to her dad about Logan's location the day that Lilly was killed and that had probably slowed down the investigation and contributed to her dad losing his job… he'd had to protect his friend though. He'd tried to stand by her after her mother had left, but she'd thrown his offer of friendship back in his face like a cheap glass of wine. Okay, fine… he'd offered to _comfort_ her since she'd broken up with Duncan which had resulted in her hurling the verbal equivalent of thunderbolts at him. Things had been frosty between them ever since.

She seemed on edge though.

"Look… I'm just trying to understand your grand plan. Why would Logan be with Jake?" Dick asked impatiently. "And why can't I just call Duncan and get him to call his dad?"

"Duncan's got other things going on" Veronica said shaking her head, trying not to think about Pregnant Meg Manning in that hospital ward, she wouldn't be tackling that emotional dragon anytime soon. He gestured for her to stop talking.

"Oh yeah… right. I heard about that. Another rich dude on the Veronica Mars Billionaire Misery Pyre" he drawled. He'd said it to rile her, he knew that she still wasn't over Logan. She was at war with herself wanting to hate him but also having feelings for him. She glared at him, an arsenal of insults locked and loaded on her tongue.

"They are already about an hour ahead of us" Weevil interrupted. "Where exactly are you getting these keys?"

"I'm bringing them" Daisy announced as she strolled confidently through the small Marina carpark. "You gave me the wrong turn" she scolded Dick as she reached into her pocket and tossed him the keys. "You weren't going to be getting these until I saw the news… where exactly IS Logan?"

"Who the hell is this?" Weevil demanded as the slender brunette folded her arms and stood just to the left of them, sizing the small group up, seemingly unimpressed.

"You must be Weevil" she responded matter of fact.

He regarded her coolly with his amber brown eyes, she was a few years older than them. Early twenties. Latina. Black shirt, jeans. Black chucks. Her dark hair was pulled back into a high no-nonsense ponytail.

"Do we know each other?" he said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Not exactly, but I've heard enough, it's a small town" Daisy replied before turning her gaze to Veronica. "You're her" she said quietly.

"Whats the name?" Dick asked as he examined the keys in his hand, Logan had entrusted them to him for safe keeping but he'd never gone to pick them up yet.

"The Maverick" Daisy replied as she watched the furrows deepen on the petite blondes face. "Joss Carters before he lost it at a card game few months back" she explained.

"You got here very quickly" Mac noted uneasily.

"I work in a bar on the other side of the Boardwalk Pier, its not too far from here" Daisy replied. "You still haven't told me what all this is about… where is Logan?"

"No one knows" Mac responded quietly. "We are sort of hoping to find out"

The cold air sliced into her eyes, making them water as she did her best to concentrate on the screen, the orange dots were getting closer together. They were going faster than Mac had thought was possible as Dick expertly carved through the rolling waves. Weevil was holding carefully onto the sides of the rail and Veronica stood next to Dick as he steered through the blackness. The lights from Neptune were getting farther and farther away as they chased the data for the Blue Moon. The Wi-fi Hotspot from Dicks phone were the only thing keeping them on course but it took time to buffer.

 _How the hell did he know what directions to take from up there?_

"Don't worry… if that thing fails, I can use the stars" he assured her, shouting over the crashing waves and the wind, his sunglasses seemingly protecting him from the fierce winds.

They'd left shore about half an hour ago, and seemed to be doing the top speed for their vessel. It was as if someone had lit a fire under them, she couldn't deny that there was something impressive about the way the older Casablancas brother had seemingly caught the scent of his friend, and was taming the oceans themselves in the battle to reach Jake Kane's yacht.

Mac wasn't sure what she thought of the theory that Jake Kane had abducted Logan Echolls, but Veronica seemed determined that she needed to know, so she pulled up the big girl pants and pitched in. Although in retrospect, this wasn't the smartest idea. Surely an anonymous tip to the Sheriffs Office about the boat being off the Neptune Coastline would have been the sensible choice?

The safer option… Jake Kane was a Tech Expert. His security department would eat her for breakfast if he decided to track who had hacked into his GPS location.

It might have been the safer option, but if Veronica was right, and often she was, delaying getting to that boat could cost Logan his life. At least, that's how it felt.

"Now what?" Dick asked as the Dots to the Blue Moon flashed as being within range of one another. The lights on the boat had been kept purposely low so they could see signs of the other ships on the horizon.

"Do we even know what we are going to find onboard?" Weevil asked as the lights of a large vessel appeared on their left and Dick began to slow the engine.

"No… but I think we should just do what Daisy suggested. If you are going through Hell…" Mac replied nervously as they noted the second vessel, a large superyacht like one of those Russian Oligarchs have she'd seen on that documentary about Putin.

"Keep going before the Devil knows you are there" Veronica finished, her eyes locked on their target.


	33. Chapter 33

Major Lazer - Be Together (feat. Wild Belle)

"There are two of them" Mac voiced nervously as the four of them stood staring across the water at the large yachts just on the Horizon.

"Okay… we are here. So what is the plan?" Weevil asked arching a brow, trying not to concentrate on looking around the water that moved around the boat like a living pool of black oil, swallowing up all the light.

 _What the Hell had he been thinking suggesting that they get on this boat?_

The open ocean was his Wake-Up-In-The-Middle-Of-The-Night-Screaming fear. Ever since the nights that his Great Uncle Julio had told him about his grandparents journey into the US which had claimed the lives of half of his paternal grandfather. The small boat had capsized in rough waters and everyone on-board had drowned. He'd dreamt as a small boy of being on that boat, of being swallowed by that blackness, and been frightened of the sea ever since. Perhaps that's why his body tensed with extreme hyper vigilance at each slight rolling motion beneath them.

"We should have brought a bigger boat" Dick grumbled as he pulled out one of the small sandwiches from the bag that Mac had brought earlier. Side-eying him, Weevil glared, of course their glorious Captain would look perfect at ease with their current situation. He stood in his ridiculous Surfer-Bro attire and munched on a freaking sandwich making poorly veiled Jaws references.

Figures.

"Well Aquaman, why didn't you think of that before we left port?" Weevil quipped in irritation. His stomach wanted to empty itself over the sides of the boat.

 _How the Hell could anyone eat at a time like this?_

"I dunno… I'm not usually into illegal activity" Dick retorted sarcastically through a mouthful of turkey sandwich.

"No, you usually leave that up to your dad… must have skipped a generation" Weevil argued back and Dick tossed his half-eaten sandwich into the bag again.

"We wouldn't even be in this mess if it wasn't for you, and your merry little band of Hombres" Dick snarled. "You burned down his fucking house!"

"Knock it off!" Veronica scolded them both.

"Why is he even here? This guy has had it in for Logan for months" Dick complained to her, his blue eyes blazing in anger. "Like you even care!"

"I owe it to Felix" Weevil snarled back.

"Too bad it's misplaced! Logan didn't kill anybody!" Dick snapped at him. He'd seen how his friend had been when the calls had come in from Madison during their drive back to Neptune from Mexico. He'd been pulled over at the side of the road, a complete mess. He might put up a good front, but Logan was all misdirection of hard edges and soft insides.

He wasn't a killer. Not even close.

Hells he wasn't even as big a Jackass or a Player as he had been faking lately. Guy had serious game but he was a serial monogamist.

Dude was hard wired to love one woman at a time. He desperately wanted to belong somewhere, with someone. Like he was in constant search of the other half of himself. Perhaps it was that thread of vulnerability that made Dick feel so protective of him.

Women were vicious.

"Just stop fighting!" Veronica interjected. Trying to calm them both down. She needed eyes inside or to get a better look but her camera was in her bag locked a long with her laptop inside the Sheriff's department with her car.

"We'll sort that after we finish our little Pirates adventure shall we? What exactly are we supposed to do now?" Weevil asked, changing focus, seemingly deciding that battling each other was a wasted endeavour. "It's not exactly like we have X-ray vision… how are we supposed to even see if he's in there… and which boat do we search first?"

"I don't know… this wasn't my idea remember?" Dick snarled back.

"Won't the coast guard or harbour cops be out looking for him?" Mac asked. "I mean… If we found them surely _someone's_ going to search out here?"

"You saw the radio feed. They checked the cameras at the Marina during the time of his disappearance. Lamb thinks he's headed to Mexico. He's covering the roads and the airstrip, and as far as he knows, Logan hasn't got access to a boat. No one's coming out here" Veronica said shaking her head.

"So it's just us" Dick sighed looking back over at the boats. Deep furrows carving into his forehead as he studied the them. "They are going to know we are out here" he sighed.

"What do you mean?" Mac questioned nervously, looking back along the horizon with renewed interest.

"The lights are off" Weevil scoffed.

"Yeah… but that's a Russian Mega-Yacht… those things are like surface submarines, and can hold as many people as every Suite in the Neptune Galaxy Resort Hotel…" Dick said in exasperation. Noting the confusion on the Hispanic man's face he rolled his eyes. "They have sonar! SO if they are keeping watch for something coming… then they will know we are here"

"They won't" Mac said firmly.

"What are you talking about?" Dick asked, screwing up his face. "I just told you they have…."

"But that's Jake Kane's Yacht… and if they are anything like ME, then they are just monitoring the Neptune Sheriff's systems for signs of trouble" she explained, her pale grey eyes locking with Veronica's.

"They don't know anyone's coming out here because there's been no reason to check" Veronica breathed, finishing the reasoning for her.

"Exactly. That's the Dreadnaughts and we are a Starfighter… They have no reason to check for us and if they are… they are waiting for Sirens, blue lights and Press choppers, and the coast guard. We are completely under the radar…" Mac said, her voice picking up with excitement as she pulled the binoculars from Dicks hand. If they could get closer…. Maybe she could hack into the ships on-board tech systems… give them a view from inside.

"You honestly think we are going to save the day?" Weevil snorted incredulously trying to reason with Veronica. "I don't know if you noticed the two large ships, with armed Mafia guards, between us, and a Logan which might not even be there."

 _They had to turn back now… when he'd heard that Jake Kane was out here on his Yacht.. he'd been picturing one of those ones like he'd seen some of the 09er kids partying on, but this thing looked like a floating mansion… an impenetrable, floating mansion._

"If he isn't there… then why are there two large ships, with armed Mafia guards, between us, and Logan?" Dick countered. "We should call the Navy or something…"

"You really think the Navy is going to stop… oh I don't know, defending our Country, to come and rescue Logan Echolls?" Weevil scoffed.

 _Honestly the sense of entitlement with these 09er guys…_

"Maybe I should tell them you got over the Wall" Dick growled.

"I was BORN in Neptune, same as you, idiot!" he retorted.

"QUIET!" Mac shouted interrupting them. "Trying to hack into the two large ships, with armed Mafia guards if you don't mind… I'd like to concentrate on not attracting their attention" she breathed when they finally switch their focus to her.

"You can hack a ship?" Veronica asked incredulously.

"No… I can maybe hack onto the computer devices ON their ship… no way Neptune's answer to Bill Gates doesn't have the whole place connected up to a smart device like Alexa" Mac reasoned. "But I need to get closer…" her stormy grey eyes looked expectantly at Dick.

"Okay.. I'll get you as close as I can" he murmured and went back to his post.

"That's just great… go towards the danger" Weevil complained.

"You don't like it, get off the Boat… tide should drift you back to Neptune eventually" Dick mumbled passive-aggressively as he picked up the rest of his sandwich.

"I don't like this V" Weevil told her firmly as he gripped the rail protectively.

 _He was NOT going to be sick… was he seriously risking his life to save the guy who'd murdered Felix?_

"You think you can get us an idea of what is going on inside?" Veronica asked hopefully, sitting down beside Mac.

"I'm not sure… I've never tried to get onto a secure network using just the internet on a mobile phone before" she sighed. "I don't even know where to begin getting in" she admitted.

"What do you mean getting in?" Dick quirked a brow.

"Accessing it through something… a speaker, a phone.. I don't even know what tech or what brand is on that yacht.. I can get a list, but I don't know what I'm going to breach" Mac sighed. It was always a longshot.

"Tech… like the TV?" Dick asked through a mouthful of sandwich.

 _Was he stress eating?_

"Yeah… exactly like that" Mac nodded.

 _Give the guy a Scooby Snack, he can understand English…_

"85 inch Samsung 4K Smart TV" he announced. "Duncan was telling me all about it few months back when we were discussing asking his dad to borrow it for the Winter Formal After Party"

Mac looked up at him in mild surprise.

"You are sure?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah.. because they should have gone with the Sony Bravia KD77A1 OLED HDR 4K Ultra HD Smart Android TV, even though its only 77inch… better picture" Dick snorted.

"Can you use that?" she asked Mac.

"I think so… if I knew how to penetrate it…" Mac replied.

"Like through an app?" Veronica queried reaching into her pocket for her phone.

"I thought we agreed no phones?" Weevil complained. _Why didn't she just send up a flair and tell the whole world where they were?_

"Duncan's Netflix account… could you get into his dads system through that?" Veronica suggested, handing Mac the phone.

"Maybe… I can try?" she nodded and her fingers began to tap purposefully over the keyboard.

"That will have to be close enough… I get us any nearer and they will know we are here" Dick told them as he killed the engine.

Veronica glanced at her wrist watch and pulled the small black hoodie closer around herself, glancing over at Weevil who looked slightly ridiculous clutching onto the side of the small boat wearing the orange lifejacket. Interestingly, Dick wasn't wearing one. She guessed that Weevil felt completely out of his element, roaming the high seas isn't exactly what came to mind when she pictured the PCH motorcycle gang leader. He was more attuned to tearing up the hot California asphalt on his bike. She was glad he was here though. Lilly had brought them together for a reason that day before the bus crash.

 _She'd been spared for a reason… Surely it was to heal this rift between Logan and Weevil? To save each other? Hells… the two had been friends before that night on the bridge. How had everything in her life gotten so wrong? Her mum had taken off again. Choosing to hide from her problems in the bottom of a bottle. She wasn't naïve enough to wait for her to come back this time. Meg was barely hanging on… Inner demons didn't play well with Angels._

 _She couldn't lose Logan too. She needed whatever Guardian Angels were looking out for her to help her today._

 _Please Lilly… show me what I'm supposed to do now…_

Lost in her thoughts she felt a hand squeeze reassuringly on her shoulder. Looking up she saw Weevil had moved closer to sit down beside them as Dick reached into the bag for another snack.

"I'm in… we have… the coffee machine… the music and entertainment systems… and access to the internal security system… I think I could access the camera feed from here, but as soon as I'm in they will know we are here" Mac warned.

"What about that?" Weevil asked, pointing at the small writing that indicated Skype camera.

"We will only be able to see that camera footage, might not even be any use… for all we know it's just the conference hall, and if its active, then we could stumble in on a call" Mac informed him.

"Is there a way to check?" Veronica asked and Mac shook her head.

"I got this" Dick shrugged picking up his phone and pressed the middle button. "Siri… call Jake Kane"

"Are you insane?" Weevil snapped in alarm, pouncing up to snap the phone from his fingers but it connected to the speaker phone before he could.

"Hello Richard…" Jakes slurred voice answered and Veronica stiffened at the sound of the older man's voice.

 _What the Hell was he doing?_

"Mr JK, Sup… so I was just wondering if Duncan had had time to talk to you about us borrowing your boat?" Dick asked.

"No… I'm afraid I haven't had much time to converse with my son today… But I am sure he will put your proposal forward" Jake answered nonchalantly, his voice sounded weary.

"Dude, did I call you at a bad time?" he asked casually, his voice sounded its usual Dude-Bro self.

"Just finished a business meeting, it ran a little late, I'm down in the rec-room" Jake sighed as he pocketed another ball, the sound clacking over the speakers.

"Cool… so anyways… I'll let you get back to it, and I'll ask DK to hit you up with the details" Dick added.

"I'm sure arranging your Class President will take the utmost care planning your After Party, Dick" Jake assured him.

"I know… just wanted to check in with you… Madison's been riding me about it, and not in the Good way" Dick told him and was rewarded by a chuckle from the older man.

"Young love… Good Night Mr Casablancas" Jake replied in that parental way he usually did when he was bidding goodbye to Duncan's soccer team mates.

"Night Mr Kane" Dick answered, disconnecting the call.

"What the Hell was that?" Weevil demanded.

"Answers" Veronica declared as she took the phone back to connect to the internet and nodded at Mac to go ahead.

There was no active call.

Mac whizzed over the keyboard, making sure that she only tapped into the feed, but covered her webcam and soon the screen filled an image of luxurious room and she tensed.

"Holy shit…." Weevil exhaled in a flurry of expletives as an image of a slumped over badly beaten Logan Echolls filled the small laptop screen. Mac raised a hand to her mouth to stifle a scream as an older man kicked him up the side of the ribcage.

"What are they saying?" Dick demanded in outrage as he almost reached for his phone to call someone to get help.

"You can't! It will disconnect the feed" Mac warned him.

"Well get the sound on that thing!" Dick commanded as anger roared through him.

 _Veronica had been right… and Logan Echolls was about to killed right there on camera…_

"We need to get onto that boat" Veronica said in a voice that sounded hollow, frozen in horror as she watched the man grab Logan like a small pup and tossed him around again. Reaching a hand around his throat and hauling him dangling above the floor. "We have to do something!" she sobbed.

"Uhh…" Mac said as she raced, her mind flooding possible options before something must have struck her and she yanked her old school mp3 player out of her pocket and connected it to the usb port, cranking up the music for the first song she could find and clicking a few things.

"Not the time for a playlist" Weevil protested.

"It's not for us" she answered cryptically as Halestorms – I get off began to blast from the speakers on the yacht just to the left of them, causing the little dots of people on the boat to stop moving and look around in confusion. Several of the men on the other boat were calling to the guys on the neighbouring vessel.

"What did you do?" Veronica asked as the images flickered to the older man dropping Logan again and talking to a slimmer man who disappeared off screen assumingly to get answers about the disruption. There was no sign of Jake Kane.

Who were these people?

"I bombarded the music system with the feed from my mp3 player" Mac answered nervously. "They know we are here… it won't be long before they shut me out" she said as she made quick work of smashing into the security camera firewalls. They had maybe 15 minutes before someone remotely cut the feed. "We don't have long" she warned.

"Why would you do that?" Weevil asked.

"Didn't you see the gun?" Mac squeaked. "They are going to KILL him"

"Take that" Dick said tossing a bag into Weevils arms.

"What's this?" he questioned as he watch the blonde teenager grab hold of the lifejacket he'd not been wearing.

"Time to suit up" Dick asked cryptically as Veronica looked at the bag, it was the life raft.

The music switched to MANTRA – Bring me the horizon.

What exactly was Dick planning to do? Veronica thought as the boat gained speed and headed straight towards the rear of the larger ship.

Weevil looked down at the words on the bag and his panicked gaze locked onto Veronicas…

 _Dick Casablancas wasn't seriously going to Ram into their ship was he?_

 _"Oh shit!" Weevil swore as he grabbed righter hold of the bag and Mac mirrored the images to her tablet and threw her laptop into the waterproof bag, clinging tighter Veronica as the small vessel picked up speed, aiming straight for the end propeller section of the larger ship._

 _"ARE YOU CRAZY?"_ Mac screamed.

 _How were they going to get back to Neptune?_

"GET READY TO JUMP!" Dick warned them as he shot several flares into the air, the red light illuminating the sky around them.

"I can't swim!" Weevil shouted as Veronica grabbed hold of a harpoon.

"I'll save you, after I get Logan" Dick told him solemnly, his blue eyes locking firmly with Veronicas as they bounced fiercely over the oncoming waves. Mac looked up at this ocean taming Casablancas… this wasn't the guy she knew from High School.

 _GO Pirates!_


	34. Chapter 34

"Your plan is to CRASH THE BOAT?" Mac shouted over the noise of the oncoming waves.

"How is drowning ourselves going to help Echolls?" Weevil protested, almost losing his footing as the boat jerked.

"We aren't… you and Veronica are!" he called back as he gestured to himself and Mac. "There's a port at the back of the Yacht… for Jetskis…I'll get you close it's how you can sneak on-board…" he told Veronica quickly tossing her a small handheld radio. It looked like the ones she'd used on her scuba-diving trips with Lilly. "Mac and I will do our best to guide you through that ship using that" he said pointing to the Tablet. "We will draw their attention and if they stop us… I'll think of something…" he breathed quickly as he turned sharply. "Get my bro off that fucking boat" he told her.

"This is insane!" Weevil argued.

"It's our only choice!" Veronica countered, her eyes pleading with him to help her. "What happens if they do catch you?" she said turning her attention to Dick and Mac.

"Those will be bringing the Calvary coming" Dick told her with a half-smile, pointing at the flares above their heads and she looked at him, properly for the first time and suddenly she could glimpse part of whatever it was about Dick Casablancas that made Logan happy to count him amongst his friends. She just hoped they all made it through this to get to know him a bit better beyond her misconceptions of his character.

Response time for the Neptune Coast Guard was around 35 minutes. He began to radio through a mayday call, claiming his small yacht was in trouble and that they had released several flares for their location. He tossed Weevil the remaining flare gun and two extra cartridges.

"Make them count!" he shouted.

Pride stiffening his spine, Weevil shoved the flare gun into the chest piece of his Life-vest and turned towards Veronica who was already climbing onto the side of the rail waiting for the signal to jump.

"GO!" Dick shouted and then he cursed, as Weevil followed her over the side, and into the freezing water below them.

"What the hell is going on?" Jake Kane demanded as he came upstairs into the lounge suite, holding his ears as several heavy metal bands blasted over the speakers. Momentarily halted by the sight of a battered and bruised Logan Echolls. It twisted something fatherly inside him.

 _How could the boy who had stood so sweetly taking his daughter to her junior homecoming have murdered his baby girl?_

"We don't know… it seems to be coming from all over the sound system but we cannot shut it off" Yuri told him.

"I'll fix it" Jake complained as he lifted his laptop and frowned as he noticed the slow data-traffic. "Someone has breached the security systems…" he swore, shaking his head to try and remove the drunken fog.

This was a problem… was the Media hacking his yacht? Did someone know he was in Neptune?

This had to be contained. He pressed his phone to speak to his head of security.

"Clarence… there's been a cyber attack on the Blue Moon security systems, it needs to be reset" Jake ordered over the sound of the blaring music.

"Tiz probably… just cheeldren" Dimitri shrugged as he sipped on his drink and looked down at the injured teenager at his feet. "Alexi tells me there is a small vessil outside… I have already instructed my men who have sent Sergei to go and see what they want"

"Has he admitted it yet?" Jake asked in a hollow voice. He took no pleasure in seeing the boy like this. He'd heard from his father that he was responsible, but he still wanted to hear him say it. Once he knew beyond all reasonable doubt that Logan Echolls had killed his daughter he could move on. He'd have his justice, he would avenge his families loss and he could finally heal.

"Not yet… but cowardice can freeze a man's tongue" Dimitri informed him.

"I—I didn't kill… Lilly…" Logan denied as he spat blood onto the hard wood floors. "I—I would… n-never have hurt her…" he wheezed as he clutched his ribs. He wasn't even sure how he was still alive, the pain exploding down his sides at every breath told him several bones were broken.

"Of course… like you did not kill that other young man… or arrange for the destructing of the school bus" Dimitri mocked as he grabbed Logan by the ankle and trailed him towards the bucket of water again, he'd been dunking him into it on and off for the last hour between beatings.

"OH PLEASE! COME ON LAZY BONES…. WE HAVE THINGS TO DO!" a female voice called piercing through the noise.

"Lilly?" Jake choked as the sound of his daughters voice filled the room.

"It is the one and only, Lilly Kane… time to get your butt in gear… come on!" she laughed.

Logan frowned and looked just as bewildered as the other two men in the room.

"Sweetheart?" Jake called out.

"It is a recording" Dimitri announced, turning his angry gaze back to Logan. "What games is this?"

"It's not me…" he ground out.

 _These guys were insane. When the hell did he think he'd have time to set something like that up in between the beatings?_

"Now… you see … if I don't get my way, I am going to pout and have to talk to my therapist… and the last thing you want is a well-adjusted and functional Lilly Kane…. Because I am much more fun"

"Jake! It is just a recording" Dimitri told him firmly.

"That's twisted… even for you" Dick breathed as he watched Mac transfer the audio-files from Veronicas saved voicemails to the music system.

"Diversion remember?" Mac said as she watched the men stop hitting Logan.

"Okay we are on the third deck" Veronicas voice called over the radio.

"You need to go straight ahead and take the next left, then you will come across a flight of stairs that will take you up to the lounge where they are holding Logan" Mac told her, looking at the camera feed. "I won't have eyes for much longer Veronica… they are already trying to lock me out" she sobbed. Her heart was racing, this was way more than she had bargained for when she'd agreed to help Veronica with her computer problem. So far they'd gotten on-board unseen and Dick had made a spectacle of himself mooning the Russian yacht crew as they had sailed past. They thought it must have been a prank, but it was going to arouse their suspicions soon.

"We got company" Dick warned her, unclicking his life-vest and tossing it aside as he noted the vessel coming towards them and there was no way they could outrun it. It was a small speedboat.

"What are we going to do?" she gasped as she saw the small boat approaching the rear and a man getting ready to board. He clicked off the radio, being careful not to move too much to draw attention. Veronica and Weevil were on their own.

"This!" Dick told her as he yanked his shirt off his body and tossed his t-shirt over her laptop, then without warning rolled her onto her back, wrapping her legs around his waist as he swallowed her surprised yelps by kissing her and shoving a hand under her, holding her close as he covered her small body with his. Kissing her into a quiet submission until she was lost in it as the stranger climbed up the small ladders to their location.

"Piz-dets… Sergei… it is nothing..." Alexi called over the radio.

"Dude! Don't you knock?" Dick protested and Mac shrieked in embarrassment when she realized that Dick had made light work of opening several of the buttons of her shirt without her noticing. Her lips still tingled from the sensation of his mouth pressed against hers.

"What are you doing here?" the Russian man demanded in his thick accent.

"Well, Mu-dak.. I know what I'm NOT doing here… do you mind?" Dick scoffed as if he was outraged by the man's inconsiderate interruption.

"Teenagers" Sergei muttered shaking his head as he gestured for Alexi to return to the boat.

"Why did you send the flares?" Alexi questioned, ignoring him.

"Because man... it's my little bunny's birthday, and I promised her a night under the stars, before I got her in her birthday suit" Dick smirked rolling his eyes. Seemingly amused Sergei called on his comrade again to join back on the small boat while Alexi cursed something about American pig in Russian under his breath before returning to the small speedboat.


	35. Chapter 35

_(Lewis Capaldi - Someone You Loved)_

 _What was the use of a radio when moving covertly through an enemy's lair that had to be kept on silent?_ Weevil shivered in impatience. Not that they would be able to hear it over the sound of Ozzy Osbourne's - Crazy Train blasting over the ships sound system. It wouldn't be long before someone switched it off. Mac had just told Veronica that they were going to be on their own, and there had been no response when they'd asked if the coast was clear from their eyes on the boat.

"They must have company" Veronica whispered as he tucked her into the small alcove before the stairway. He was still a little shaken from their trip into the water, only now they had shed their life-vests, the small life-raft was sitting in the waterproof bag in the launch bag where they had swam aboard… correction.. where Veronica had swam them aboard. Casablancas had jokingly said he'd save him, after they got Logan, but this plan had been so gung-ho, he wasn't sure any of them would make it off the water alive tonight.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Neptune's Beloved Jake Kane had used that power and influence to get revenge for Lilly's murder. Hells, it is exactly what Weevil would have done in his shoes… albeit, probably a lot slower.

Logan going missing on the same night his father was killed? There was only one answer. Coincidence didn't exist in his world. Either he'd paid to have his father taken out… although that required the kind of connections that someone like Logan Echolls and his golden spoon never would have known about, or he'd snuck in and done the job himself. Although, Weevil doubted Jake Kane would be having Russian Mafia goons beating the guy who'd murdered his daughter's killer.

Veronica had been right about him being on-board. She had been right about Lilly's murder being a cover-up. She had been right about that Twerp Sean stealing the money the night of the card game in Echolls house.

 _Was she right that Logan hadn't killed Felix?_

The more he'd turned it over in his head… the bigger the inconsistencies became. Thumper swore to his though, all his guys swore that it had been Echolls on that bridge after he'd been knocked out, and Logan was frequently seen flaunting that old knife of his grandfathers around last year before the metals detectors became part of the everyday of Neptune high… and Weevil found it that night they'd set the fire in the Echolls estate... _what kind of idiot would have kept a murder weapon?_

It had been easy, the alarm codes had been changes, but the locks hadn't been changed and that set of copies he'd kept of his grandmothers keys as her time working for them before his cousin's card fraud had gotten her fired, had given him access. He'd hoped by not forcing entry that the insurance company would hit Echolls in the pocket, two birds with one stone. Didn't work as Logan had an airtight alibi for the time of the blaze, he'd been in custody at the time. But it had still been two birds with one stone, it knocked Logan on his ass, and was as close as a throat punch Weevil had been able to give Lilly's murderer. All his memorabilia, his fancy house, those cars… art work, hidden bonds, and everything his money had been _invested in_ turned to ash.

His Abuela had been furious with him, she'd maintained a kind of affection for the old place, she'd had pride in her work, and it had always looked like a Palace, even if the spoiled 09ers who lived there, never quite appreciated it. There had been casualties in his vendetta against Logan.

Trina, his adopted sister, had been an innocent bystander, and was as homeless after the fire, as Logan had been, not to mention that the Blaze had destroyed almost all of the possessions left to Logan by his mother. All her things, and the photographs… for that, Weevil had felt guilt. He'd watched the woman fall to her death on that video.

Part of him wanted to be right about Logan and Felix, because he wanted it to be that simple. _If he truly was wrong?_ Then he'd destroyed those memories and he couldn't ever right that wrong.

Grief was a shapeshifter, the loss was a mixture of guilt, pain and anger. He never knew which one had the wheel.

Looking down at the blonde gumshoe whose watchful blue eyes checked if the coast was clear, the certainty in his gut that her sass and stubbornness could move mountains spurred him forwards. It didn't matter which of them was right at this moment, he'd felt Veronica curled against his back, solid and real, holding onto him as Cervando, and the bus had went over that cliff, killing 8 of his classmates. He tried to ease the tension in his muscles as he resisted the urge to pull her closer to him. He'd become protective of the diminutive sleuth ever since.

 _Maybe that's why he was being so ridiculously reckless right now._

No way Jake Kane was going to allow witnesses to get off this Yacht… he'd broken into Lilly's bedroom, he'd used up all his get out of jail free cards, no way that Celeste would drop the charges on this one if he was caught. He almost laughed out loud… yeah… like Sheriff Lamb was the biggest problem that he had tonight.

Veronica would never leave after seeing that video of what they were doing to Logan. He knew that, but if his being here meant he could use himself as a shield until she got free? Then perhaps that was one thing he could accomplish tonight. Extra vigilant now, those little oceans looked up at him and part of him wanted to throttle Echolls himself for being in this situation, for having put her at risk. Her lip pulled under her teeth as he watched her fight to regain some semblance of control. This was an evolving plan with no current escape route, no clear possible outcome except them both staring down the barrel of a gun if they were caught.

Their drenched clothing was still strewn on the floor of the jetski hub and she shivered, dressed only in her shorts and pale tank top, they'd been careful not to leave a trail of wet footprints giving away their location.

 _Thank the horror movie lessons for that one._ He thought as he tried not to concentrate on the sliver of taut stomach he could see peeking out from her top. They looked so similar… that slight curl in the blonde hair, the blue eyes, except where Veronica was delicate, Lilly had been a symphony of curves begging hands to trace the contours of her body.

Dealing with Veronica always made him nervous. His arm brushed against her bare shoulder as he guided her into the small crew cabin out of sight, at least here they wouldn't be discovered. Noticing shelves of Kane Industries Promotional T-shirts and hoodies, he pulled two down eagerly. He'd seen these tracksuits before all over the corporate security recruitment videos he'd been sent to during his community service. Kane Industries had their own reform campaign for young offenders to "steer them to a better kind code that the penal code" he had found the whole affair nauseating. The closest he'd ever get to working for Kane Industries, would be as a janitor or cleaning the pool. He kept the baseball cap he'd been given though, it had kept the sun off his head when he and Elec worked on their cars. Expectations for his future after graduation veered in a distinctly vertical direction… heading south.

"Put some clothes on" he ordered quickly, reaching for some soft deck shoes. "Your teeth chattering's going to get us noticed" he added as she hesitated. It honestly wouldn't make much difference what they were wearing, their discovery would happen eventually. It sounded like an excuse, and she probably knew it. Reality was unlikely to change itself, but at least he wouldn't be so distracted.

 _Logan was a lucky bastard…_

He shoved the flare gun cartridges into the central pocket of the soft apple green hoodie he was wearing. He looked absurd. Build-a-bears version of a teddy bear gangster. He felt his heart clench as he looked at the light pink fabric cover her pale shoulders beneath the sea-drenched curls forming, every instinct in him wanted to turn and hurl them both over the side, to take them back into the ocean and fall into the deep. Take their chances.

The coldest level of Hell was cold and dark… he just wanted to leave all of this history there and move on. He wasn't a coward, he didn't want to watch her get hurt. She peered over her shoulder at him, silently asking if he was ready.

 _Echoll's wasn't worth this…_ the thought brought anger in its train. _He should have just let Lamb catch them... what the hell had he been thinking encouraging her to call Dick?_

He swallowed and closed his eyes. He'd failed Lilly, he wouldn't let Veronica suffer that fate because of Logan, not another girl… never again.

He'd been to a Spoken Word event with his regular friends-with-benefits Ximena from his neighbourhood and the visiting artist Rudy Francisco had said something which had resonated with him.

"A heart was the same size as a fist… but they didn't have the same functions."

He'd use his heart as a fist tonight if he had to. He couldn't let her stay any more than she could make herself leave.

 _The cost of her living might be more than she had bargained for… but if it got her out of this... Jetskis were basically ocean motorbikes right?_

Mentally he planned their route back to the Jetski hub. It must have shown on his face, because he shoulders drew back, and her gorgeous face stared at him in stark refusal of running out, a woman's silence was always a lot deadlier than her noise. Almost as if to mock his intention WILD - Brighter Side began to call out over the speakers.

"V…" he said softly.

"No!" the answer was short and curt as her fingers gripped onto the handle, the radio in the other hand.

 _Surely he owed it to her father to get her home safe? To Lilly… he wasn't in the frame of mind to let destiny create another tragic family history… Death was no victory._

"You're gonna make your father bury his kid?" he said in a quiet furious rush, a hardness entering his tone, grabbing onto her shoulder.

Keith Mars was his daughters only true Achilles heel. He had to make her listen to reason, about to put his arguments to her in a flood of common sense as to why they needed to get their asses back onto that ship with Hacker Chick and Spawn of Satan Casablancas when their attentions snapped towards the other side of the door.

He watched the fragile edifice of her control collapsed in a cloud of dust as the crisp clear sound of a gunshot rang out as the music continued is ethereal serenade.


	36. Chapter 36

(Anson Seabra - Robin Hood)

"LOGAN!" she screamed as Veronica felt Weevils strong arm curl around her and she was yanked backwards into the small room before she could open the door. Her body moving in the opposite direction of every nerve ending firing inside her wanted to rip herself free from the Neptune High bad boy hauling her towards the tiny wardrobe. She tried to fight him but he was too strong. Her eyes flooding with tears as she struggled to reach for the door. His hand reached for something she was holding and it took her stuttered mind a few moments to realize what he was searching for.

"Talk to me Dick… what's going on?" he demanded in a hurried hush.

"Was that gunshots?" Mac asked quickly.

"Was it? I don't know, why don't you get onto those cameras and check?!" he retorted in frustration, Veronica had stilled, her momentary outburst seemingly squashed by the greater instinct to get more information about the happenings going on.

"Where are you?" Dick asked.

"Oh… just having a great little midnight swim and trying not to be used for target practise... what the hell took you so long?" he countered.

"We weren't alone.." Mac explained as she clicked furiously through the camera feed to try and find the one to the conference room again, the system was on a loop that moved in a random sequence through the various cameras on board according to a sophisticated algorithm that she hadn't seen yet. It meant she had to flick thought the various feeds manually.

"Yeah? No kidding… look turn that boat around, come get us!" Weevil ordered.

"Screw you! We came to get Logan!" Dick snarled, his pulse was racing, their little encounter with the Russian Stan and Olly had left him a little shaken. There wasn't exactly much he could do as their designated Sail Away Driver but stand around with his proverbial dick in his hand until it was time to slice through the waves. Either the Coast Guard would be here in the next 27 minutes, or he was going to have to try and find his Inner Pirate and form a board party of One to go and finish the job.

He wasn't going to quit on his friend, and he had no intention of letting some Ruskie assholes kill any of his people tonight.

They were all gonna to live.

Logan was the Bill to his Ted… and this journey was BOGUS!

Not to mention he was slightly reeling from the unexpected enjoyment he'd found locking lips with his teams Girl with the Dragon Tattoo here… if they lived through this… he definitely wanted to check her for Tattoos. One person could ruin you for everyone else, and he had this awful feeling that something momentous had happened when he'd kissed her. Smart nerdy chicks had always been his Achilles heel... he stuck to dating cheerleaders… well… because they were easy and they knew the score.

Those slate-grey eyes looked up at him in panic.

"NO!" she yelped as she yanked the USB mp3 player out, a deafening silence surrounding them.

"What did you do?" he protested as watched the secret little hottie delve into her bag and pull out chain full of USB keyrings and begin fumbling through them.

"Not me…" Mac told him as she began to flick through keys and slotted one in, then hit several buttons.

"What's wrong with the cameras?" he demanded as he looked as several of the screens began to go blank. Feed after feed fading to blackness.

"We are sitting ducks here" Weevil cautioned over the radio.

"Hey! ABBY!" Dick said clicking his fingers and trying to get her attention as she focused on changing the usb keys.

"ITS MAC! AND IM BUSY!" she snapped at him, the encrypted keys should throw a firewall around her IP long enough for her to try another backdoor. She'd developed these codes along with some of her Hacktivist friends for their online protesting helping Sea Sheppard and various Green Peace groups.

She screwed up her nose and renewed her focus back to programmes in front of her, pulling up the cameras one by one, getting closer to the conference feed to where they held Logan.

"Where are you?" Mac asked, noting the absence of Weevil and Veronica on their cameras. Their original entry route into the smart tv apps had been blocked, she'd to get in via the Bluetooth enabled Alexa pods dotted around the room. Turning on the microphones and trying to get an idea of the rooms by using them as listening devices until the camera feed came back online.

"Crew cabin by those stairs… what's going on?" Weevil responded quietly, noting the lack of music blasting over the sound system.

"You're clear but there's guys searching around now, I'm guessing they found your stuff" Dick said as he looked at the tablet in his hand.

"And Logan?" Veronica pleaded.

"I'm almost through…" Mac told her, glad that the firewall seemed to have let her back in no issue until an alarm began to bleep from her tablet and Dicks Iphone 8.

***WARNING YOUR IP DETAILS HAVE NOW BEEN LOGGED BY KANE INDUSTRIES. YOUR SYSTEMS HAVE NOW BEEN FROZEN. FEDERAL AUTHORITIES HAVE NOW BEEN INFORMED OF YOUR LOCATION WARNING YOUR SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN DETAINED BY KANE INDUSTRIES. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO PROSECUTE ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THEFT COMMITED DURING THE BREACH OF OUR SECURITY***

"SHIT!" Mac cried out as she began to desperately begin yanking the battery out of her laptop and tried to flip it back over and reboot her computer.

"Whats wrong?" Dick asked, as he crouched beside her.

"They found us… I'm locked out!" Mac sobbed.

"So get back in…" he glowered down at her calmly. He needed the Tempting Little Typist to get the cameras working so he could find out what that shot was.

"I can't!" she declared desperately, she had no way to help her friends navigate their way back off that ship. Big stormy grey eyes filled like rain clouds as she began to cry, turning helplessly to look at the boat.

"Talk to me Dick" Weevil ground out, a rush of male protectiveness wishing he'd stayed on that damn boat so he could check on the short brunette. His golden-brown eyes raking over Veronica, her face white with shock. The silence on the ship was deafening. The windows didn't open, port holes or something, they'd have to get out onto the guarded balcony and into the water from there. If they survived the jump… he vaguely recalled something about landing in the surface of the water from a great height shattering bones on impact.

Sometimes, quietness could be the loudest answer.

"We are working blind…" he answered, he didn't want to even think it… he had no idea what he'd been thinking when he'd sent them onto that Yacht with nothing but a dingy. Now it seemed foolish.

"Come get us" Weevil ordered. Dick glanced at his watch… 24 minutes until the cavalry arrived. He could feel the danger like a wire around his neck. Glancing over at the brunette still trying to unlock her computer system, as she rebooted his phone, her eyes flickered up to meet his.

"All the world will be your enemy… be cunning and full of tricks… prince of a thousand enemies" he muttered, remembering the words from a book his mother had given him after a trip from Europe the year after his parents first split.

"Be cunning… and full of tricks…" Dick said quietly into the radio. "Get back here… Veronica… COME BACK NOW!"

Logan would want her off that boat… the path ahead was like the light between broken mirrors, the pieces refracted around them, making it unclear.

Weevil herded Veronica out into the small corridor, guiding her towards the small ladder used by the crew to get to the upper deck for cleaning when a loud thud crashed into the corridor behind them, and a slim man slid down the stairs in a heap before being shoved in their direction by his assailant. Another shot fired and instinctively, Weevil yanked Veronica down for cover.

 _What the Hell?_

Weevils mind reeled as the wheels began to turn, looking behind him, one hand clasped onto Veronicas forearm he pulled her back from the fight as he followed her gaze.

He looked up at the blood-streaked face of Logan as he slumped down the stairs, and appeared to be jumping out of the way as the sound of wood splintering thwacked behind him. Several more popping sounds followed as he jerked his body along the floor in the opposite direction of them.

 _Someone was shooting at him…_

The slim man who had fallen down the stairs appeared to be unconscious and Weevil shoved Veronica behind him, blocking her view with his broad shoulders, while he assessed the situation.

 _The shots were coming from up the stairs…_

"LOGAN!" Veronica gasped, and she was halted from rushing forwards by the Latino biker in front of her.

"ECHOLLS MOVE!" Weevil commanded, turning to shove Veronica in the direction they'd been heading. "GO!" he told her, a scowl emerging as he stared down at the end of the corridor. Several footsteps and shouts in something not English or Spanish called out as others rushed to their location.

 _Logan wouldn't make it…_

He could barely hold himself up as his blood covered fingers slipped on the water-sealed wooden floor as he tried crawling away. His eyes looked swollen, like that time he'd seen Elec have a reaction to his peanut allergy.

 _Fuck!_

He charged past the door to the staircase, slamming it closed with his shoulder as he surged forwards, grabbing Logan and trying to haul him upwards. Veronica close behind.

 _What the HELL was she doing? He'd told her to go…_

Heavy steps bounded down the stairs, a flurry of angry Russian as a large man stepped through the open door, his hands lifting as he ejected a clip from the gun he was holding and reached for his holster. Weevil cursed under his breath and tried to kick the door to the cabin, the guy outweighed him by almost 100 pounds and very primal instinct in his brain screamed FLEE.

He slammed at the the door beside them trying to get it to open when he felt Veronica grab at his clothes, her desperate hands ripping into his hoodie.

 _What was she DOING?_

He barely had time to process as she stood firm, legs planted, grip tight and pulled the trigger of the flare gun point blank at the muscled giant that made him look puny in comparison. The red flare bounced around the small space before smacking into the fire extinguisher, sending a fog of clouds around them.

"You are El Diablo?" Logan muttered as he clasped eyes on his companion.

Clearly the guy was out of it.

"Unless you wanna click your Heels three times and get us off this damn boat, shut up" Weevil retorted. He'd lost sight of Veronica in the chaos, falling into a corridor he didn't recognise.

"Where are we?" Logan slurred.

"Are you drunk?" Weevil asked in disgust. _He looked like Hell but they gave him hard liquor before they tortured him?_

"Are you REAL?" Logan quipped, clearly the guy was having a hard time holding it together, as he began to for lack of a better term… frisk him to check if he was really there.

"Fuck… shit… Veronica!" Weevil called out, propping Logan up against the wall while he looked at one of those ship plans… it was basically like a car blueprint, right?

 _They were… 3 floors up from where they needed to be… and it appeared like he was on the wrong side of the corridor, when he'd grabbed Logan. She was probably already half way down there by now._

"You're really here…." Logan said, sobering, squinting at him through his bruises.

"Fraid so" Weevil grumbled as he looked him over for injuries, listening to the sounds of the thundering footsteps as he dragged Logan towards the cold air as he got him outside.

 _They had to move…_

"JUMP!" he heard a masculine voice call from behind him. Dick was driving the escape boat alongside them.

Looking down he realised the radio was still clipped to his Hoodie.

"I can't… Logan's hurt…" Weevil refused. He couldn't swim… and Logan was barely conscious.

"Then I'll meet you in the water" Dick assured him and he looked down to see Casablancas pulling off his life vest and grabbing a small orange floatation device, as he spoke quickly to Mac. Weevil tried to argue, but he'd already jumped from the boat. Cutting through the water like he belonged on Baywatch.

 _Fuck…_

"Is that Dick?" Logan asked, his weight heavy around his neck.

"He wants us to jump" Weevil told him as they both looked over the rail.

"Voz'mi ikh!" a deep voice commanded and the door furthest from them opened.

"JUMP!" Logan ordered as he shoved Weevil off him. He had no idea what the hell was going on, or how or WHY Eli Navarro, his sworn enemy and rival was here, saving his ass.

 _Had Jake Kane suspected Weevil of Lillys murder too? Were they both prisoners?_

"I hate you, Echolls" Weevil ground out as he helped the other man climb the rail, grabbed onto him and propelled them both over the edge.

"Dick Casablancas! You cannot leave me here!" Mac shrieked, cursing him as she grabbed the wheel and kept the course he told her to keep, just north-west of the end of the ship, looking ahead she saw the other Russian Yacht were readying their speedboat again, both the two men from before were hurrying down the steps towards the small vessel.

Drama played out in the waves as Dick secured the life-vest to Weevil, and threw a life-ring around Logan before he turned and began to swim straight for the front of her boat.

 _Oh no…. was she going to collide with them?_

 _What the HELL was Dick Casablancas thinking?_

It was then she noticed the small red cord tied to the end of the rail beside them.

 _Had he tied himself to their boat?_

Weevil clung to the barely closed life vest as he was dragged at speed behind the boat like it was water sport. An arm around Logan who was trying to stay inside the life-ring as they battled the waves. Dick was pulling himself forward, toward the boat like he was part dolphin, yelling to Mac to slow down a little as he grabbed the side of the rail like he was Poseidon himself returning to tame the seas. When he'd thought of escaping the Blue Moon, he'd kind of had visions of him storming through the waves with Veronica like a bad ass on one of those Jetskis.

"I got it!" Dick said and nodded towards a device on the side of the boat, it looked like a fishing reel?

"Haul them in!" he called over the waves. He needed to get them back into the boat before he could swing around and get Veronica.

"How did you find me?" Logan asked as Dick helped pull him onto the boat and then Weevil.

"Dude… there's easier ways to win a girl back…" Dick joked, trying to catch his breath.

"Where's Veronica?" Mac asked, and Logan felt his blood run cold at the sound of her name.

"She was with you?" he asked the Hispanic teenager in horror. He hadn't seen her during their escape, then he remembered fragments, the chaos, the fight… the gunshots.

"We got separated" Weevil said, his voice was hollow.

"She knew the plan..." Dick replied as he steered the boat faster, looking at his watch.

 _13 minutes…_

She had the life-raft… she had her life-jackets… their were multiple exits and they had jetskis on board… and right now. Logan was hurt, his shoulder looked like he'd been grazed by a bullet, but damn, he looked like hell.

There were two angry looking Russians charging towards their boat. They needed to haul ass to safety. He hated leaving her behind, but he had people to save, and she was Lilly's best friend and Duncan's fricking ex-girlfriend.

He'd been banging her Mom.

He had to put faith in the idea that no way Jake would allow anyone to hurt her.

She would have to tough it out on her own.

"Sorry Veronica…" Dick whispered quietly as he pushed the boat into full throttle and headed back towards the rougher waters that the small speedboat wouldn't be able to handle to put some distance between them.

"What are you DOING? You can't just leave her there…." Mac cried out.

 _Be cunning and full of tricks…_

 _(Author note. This one is a little slower paced than say Getting Baked or Induratize thyself Logan Echolls... for anyone needing a break, All sorts of Caring and I Wuv You Beary Much are good prequels to this story. As Alfred Hitchcock said... to love your audience is to make them suffer. But I promise I wont make you all suffer too long. I'm practising with character POV and segmenting story structures.. makes this one drag on a little part, but it will be worth it in the end)_


	37. Chapter 37

(LAYLA – Smokestacks)

"Toni, I swear I am going to spike your end of shift coco with Laxatives if you play that song one more time" Daisy grumbled as she wiped down the end of the bar as she finished cleaning the beer trays. A deep rumble reverberated through the older African-American man's chest and she rolled her eyes at him. The same stupid song, at the same time, at the end of every night they worked together.

"Sing it with me" he teased as he swayed his plus sized frame in time to the music.

"I hate Country Music" she reminded him, removing her black shirt so she was wearing only her black faded jeans, and a dark grey tank top. There was something a little weird about a guy who looked like he should be the head of a dynastic family on _Luke Cage_ dancing to country music. The Mermaid Inn certainly looked like it belonged in Hell's Kitchen. Maybe that's why she was fond of the place, it was a dive but as assistant manager, it was hers.

 _Tomorrow night she was going to open up that stupid ancient jukebox and take out that CD…_

"Yeah… but this isn't just Country Music… It's Garth Brooks" he countered waggling his eyes brows as tapped his foot in time to the drum beat. "Come on, Daze… _You are much too young… to feel this damn old…._ " He sang with the lyrics.

"I definitely prefer you when you are hanging out on your stool, trying to look menacing… because this…" she said gesturing to his soulful crooning in time to the song. "is slightly terrifying."

"You are being a real sourpuss tonight" Toni sighed as he pulled out the stool in front of her and sat down. Usually she was at least a good sport, but she'd been in a foul mood ever since she'd come back from her venture out earlier. "It's that movie stars kid isn't it? You're a little sweet on him" he observed to which she rolled her eyes as she finished filling the bottle of Southern Comfort to return it to the optics behind her.

"Sweet on him?" she asked, arching a dark eyebrow as Toni scrubbed a large hand down his stubbed face, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Generally you do tend to border on antisocial" he offered as he watched her closed her eyes and rake a finger through her shoulder length dark hair.

"Really? I'd never have guessed" she said exhaling a deep breath before turning her green eyes back to him.

"Usually I do appreciate that acerbic wit of yours, for a girl who looks like you, that sharp wit of yours certainly makes my job a little easier" he joked. The last drunken idiot he'd removed had declared that for someone who looked hot and sweet like Shannyn Sossamon, that she was a real bitch. Citing that he was a wealthy 09er and his wife's therapist could help her through those anger issues and he'd be willing to pay for it if she gave him that lap-dance he'd been asking her for.

 _Yep, fellas got mixed up with them and The Rusty Knot on a regular basis._

"Antonio… it's late. I'm tired, and I have three cases of beers to restock, can you stop trying to chew my ass?" Daisy grumbled as she reached for the bottles of flavored shots to put behind the shot glass station and cast a glance at her phone.

 _Fine, he was right. She had been a little worried after hearing that Logan Echolls had gone missing._

Her boyfriend was a security guard at The Neptune Grand hotel, and he'd promised to message her when or if he returned, although he had his hands full trying to keep the press out tonight after the death of Aaron Echolls.

Was he hiding from the press on his boat? That blonde kid _Weiner-something?_ had said was that Logan needed the keys to his boat but then she'd gotten there and none of them had been able to tell her where he was. She mightn't be sweet on the kid, but like her after her grandmother passed a few years back, he was on his own. She knew what it was like to be adrift and being by yourself at that age. He'd had it pretty rough from what she'd been able to pry from him during his weaker drunken moments… _Bartenders. Cheaper than therapy…_ Sal had tried to use that for his social media campaign to drum up more business a few months back. She still had the t-shirt someplace around her bedroom. Some people had prayers in the shape of Prozac, others found it in the bottom of a glass. Personally, Daisy ignored all of it, she preferred pounding the streets and working out in the Half Moon Dojo when life frustrated her.

Wouldn't stop Antonio from trying to agony aunt a confession for nothing out of her. Echolls reminded her a little of herself, it wasn't that complicated a situation.

She did her best to ignore Toni's dark eyes following her as she moved around the bar tidying up. "My Grams had this annoying little Velcro dog Marvin? Used to stalk you around the house, every time I turned around, there it was, those little brown eyes staring at me…" Daisy muttered as she opened the boxes of beer and began filling the fridges. He was hanging around to give her a ride home at the end of their shift.

"Stalked?" Toni asked defensively.

"Yep… and the only way to get him to stop was to bop him on the nose with a newspaper" she laughed before she threw the dishtowel in her hand at his face.

"You could have tried treats!" Toni protested in disgust as he tossed the sodden rag back at her playfully.

"The last thing your cholesterol needs is more treats" Daisy scolded, looking pointedly at the older man's expanding waistline. Usually he flirted with the waitresses over at the diner around the corner from them and Mira always left him a box of the leftover pastries before she collected her husband and they went home.

"See what I mean? With people skills like those, it's no wonder this place is so quiet" Toni huffed.

"Would you rather they were beating down the door at all hours?" she retorted, a hand on her slim hip.

"Maybe… at least there would some excitement around here other than playing darts roulette with Gus over what songs to put on next" he countered referring to an on-going game between him and regular patron who selected jukebox songs based on his next score at the darts board.

"This aint Coyote Ugly, people come here for two reasons, to gamble or to medicate the lows with god-old fashioned liquor… doesn't get more Country and Western than that" Daisy quipped as she shrugged back into her shirt. He was about to reply when several very insistent bangs pounded on the door, frowning the two of them made eye-contact. This place wasn't usually a target for the street crimes that plagued Neptune, PCHers tended to leave this place alone on account of Sal's friendship with Frank Hernandez, a mid-level street king pin and the other clientele who used the place to play cards and negotiate shady business deals.

"We're closed! Read the sign!" Toni called as he approached the door.

"Please! We need help!" a girls voice pleaded and there were several muffled voices. "Please" she begged again.

"So call the Sheriff's department… the Galaxy resort hotel is only a few streets from here, their security team would be glad to help you…" Toni instructed.

"We don't have time to try someplace else, just open the damned door!" males voice snapped.

"Daisy! If you're in there… I need you to open up" Logan called in a pained voice.

"Was that… Boilermaker?" Toni asked but she was already rushing out from behind the bar, dragging the clump of heavy keys from the counter with her as she moved past him to the door. She looked over her shoulder to see that Toni was ready, standing with his hand reaching over the bar for his own version of Lucille… because of course a guy who looked like Zombie Chow would be a huge Walking Dead fan. Nodding she opened the door through the heavy metal chair and peered outside.

"What the _Hell_ happened to you?" she demanded, shutting the door and yanking back the chair to allow the small group inside as she looked at the battered Logan Echolls. She'd always been worried about him ending up in a state like this. "Did Carlos catch up to you?" she asked as she pointed them towards the large booth to their left and nodded at Toni to get the first aid kit they kept in the manager's office as she turned to shut the door, the Weevil kid from earlier glanced behind to check the coast was clear before he stepped inside and stood behind her as she shut the door and the other two helped Logan over to the table.

"Shouldn't you guys have taken him to the hospital?" Toni questioned as he handed the short brunette girl the first aid box.

"No! No Hospital" Weevil discouraged and Daisy took in his new appearance, he was garbed in some sort of yuppy green workout outfit, his leather jacket and black jeans were gone. He looked a bit like an edgy care bear standing guard at the door. _He needed to get in touch with his Boys…_

"Daisy…" Toni warned, his dark gaze hardening as he looked firmly at the group.

 _They were kids… shouldn't they have some sort of curfew?_

"It's fine.." she said, putting a hand up to quieten him as she pulled a bottle of alcohol from behind the bar. "You" she said clicking her fingers at the blonde to get his attention. "Catch me up…"

"I can't believe you left her…" Logan glared despondently at the best friend who had just betrayed him. It was then that Daisy realized the petite blonde girl from earlier wasn't amongst them.

"I don't know what this is… Daze, but we should be calling the Sheriff" Toni advised her.

"You can't! Please… Sheriff Lamb will arrest him… and then they'll…" Mac pleaded as she rubbed at the tears on her face.

 _This night was so Fucked… They'd left Veronica behind… and for all they knew she could be dead…_

They'd been shot at, and almost crashed their boat which they'd had to abandon on the south side of the boardwalk, her computer was beyond useless, and the Kane's probably knew who she was by now. They could be sending the FBI to her house and she'd never know because Weevil had tossed both her and Dick's cell phone over side of the boat before they'd fled to the first safe place that they could think of.

"No one's calling anybody.." Daisy assured her and Toni gave her an incredulous What-the-Hell? Look. She turned her face back to Dick and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Some bad dudes had Logan's dad killed, they snatched him and if you call Sheriff Lamb you might as well be handing him over" Dick sighed.

"And why exactly are you wet?" Toni asked, giving the Hispanic bald kid a once over.

 _This one looked like trouble. Gang tattoos…_

"That's why you needed the boat…." Daisy murmured filling in the blanks, then glanced at the corporate logo. Kane Industries. She glanced back at Antonio, his younger brother Clarence was head of security services for Kane Software.

"I don't like this…" Toni told her as Daisy handed the bottle out to Mac, she was about to pour some of the clear liquid onto the small medical cloth in her hand to clean Logan's wounds but he snatched it out of her hand and took a long swig to steady his nerves.

His brain was on fire trying to catch up.

 _They'd left Veronica behind… she was still on that boat… She'd come to save him… and she'd gotten captured or worse…_

"We have to go back…" he declared resolutely and tried to stand before wincing as the entire left side of his body erupted in pain, shock and adrenaline had saved him from feeling the most of it initially but now it felt like he'd been slammed by a two ton wrecking ball.

"You need medical attention…" Dick glowered at him as he ran a mental checklist of hot chicks he'd banged with doctors for parents. Logan had been almost fighting with him the whole way, Weevil had had to almost knock him unconscious until they made it back to shore.

"God dammit Dick… I have to…" Logan growled trying to slide off the table but Mac pushed him backwards.

"They are still looking for us, you won't be any use to Veronica if you get yourself killed" she reasoned with him firmly as she yanked the bottle out of his hand and began to clean the lacerations on his chest. She had no idea what had caused these, but she noticed several thick white scars on his side, this wasn't the first time Logan had taken a beating like this… these scars were old, years old…

 _So the stories of Abusive Monster Aaron Echolls in that Lifetime Movie sold by his sister Trina must have been true…_

"Dude, I'm sorry…" Dick apologized sincerely. He hadn't truly wanted to leave the teen detective behind… he wasn't even sure if the Coast guard had made it to the location after they'd left. His watch indicated they should have been in the area around 17 minutes ago, but he'd been in such a hurry to escape and evade those two Russian goons from earlier he'd had no choice but to charge The Maverick into waters where the smaller boat couldn't follow.

"What are we supposed to do now? We can't just leave her there… we should call the Sheriff" Weevil insisted. He would have called him already but his phone was currently in his jacket pocket in that waterproof ziplock bag he'd shoved it in laying on the ground floor along with his bike keys with the Jetski. He honestly didn't give a damn what happened to Echolls, he'd been ready to leave him behind when fate had intervened, even Timing favored the rich 09er prick. But if he'd had a choice between Echolls and Veronica… he'd never have left her behind.

"He's Keith Mars, not Liam Neeson" Logan snapped.

"You heard Mac, if we call Lamb we might as well be handing Logan back over to those assholes" Dick protested.

"HEY! ENOUGH WITH THE TEEN SQUABBLES… Pissing contests later… right now there's someone bleeding all over my bar" Daisy ordered, throwing the clump of keys onto the faux leather chair beside Mac.

"Yeah… that wasn't exactly on my nights agenda either, sweetheart" Weevil replied sarcastically glancing around the bar for a phone, most bars used to have payphones, and a place like this, might still be outdated enough to have one.

"Toni! Play nice!" she snapped, reaching a restraining hand around his forearm to stop him. "Okay… so boat.. then bad guys? I'm guessing that's where Tiny Temper from earlier is?"

"Yeah…" Mac nodded.

"And the press absolutely everywhere is looking for you…" Daisy noted to Logan, his honey brown eyes doing their best not to tear up.

"And Sheriff Lamb, Border Patrol… and probably Interpol" Dick added.

"Don't forget Cyber Homeland Security and probably the FBI…" Mac murmured. _They were so screwed…_

"Oh yeah… and the Russian Mob funded by one of the richest men after Bill Gates" Weevil snorted for good measure.

"Daisy… are we harbouring terrorists?" Toni demanded.

"You wanted excitement.." Daisy quipped as she pressed a hand to the back of her neck to ease the building tension headache.

"I was meaning some Hen parties or a late night happy hour… not some kind of cat-and-mouse game with a mobsters and dead celebrities!" he said as he glanced around the room, almost desperately before he turned and walked away from her. Slumping onto a chair beside the bar, with his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. "Sweet baby Jesus…."

Daisy glanced at the small group, thinking they looked like the leaderless Hunger Games edition of CW cast, taking in a deep breath, her head felt like it was going to burst.

 _Great one Daisy… now what?_


	38. Chapter 38

(LAYTO - Little Poor Me)

"Damn Ese! You went Uncle Phil on Deputy Sachs!" Havier beamed as he smoothed down his tie and grinned like a little kid who'd just seen naked breasts in the flesh for the since his first wet dream. Elec rubbed his jaw, thankful that he hadn't needed to contact his mother from her shift in The Neptune Galaxy Resort Spa and explain why her youngest son was currently intoxicated and enjoying the best of Balboa County's local Sheriff Departments Hospitality. "Get him out of that cell now or I will wrap you up in legal litigation for denying my clients representation!" he said, doing his best impression of the older man in the suit.

"You young gentlemen behave yourselves now, as much as I am sure you enjoyed the Amenities here, I certainly don't want to have to spend any longer around our wonderful Sheriff than I absolutely have to" Cliff McCormack advised them dryly.

No official crime had been committed other than being in possession of a car that was not theirs, Matteo insisted that they had only taken the vehicle at Veronica's insistence so they could assess it for 'repairs'. No charges had been filed, a popular tactic of Lambs to ensure the more disadvantaged in Neptune were held for questioning that little bit longer, many times, and often without representation or a parent present. Luckily for them, Keith had asked him to take a swing by Holding to see if Veronica had been detained by any of the Deputies. A quick call to Keith and some swift white lies to the deputy on desk duty, and they had been able to convince Inga to give them the release papers for the lock up. Unfortunately the Vehicle wouldn't be released until either Veronica or her father came to collect it, but at least the two were spared a night sleeping in the crowded cell. Several of the journalists and tabloid photographers had been collected from the Neptune Grand Hotel for trespassing, and it was a little crowded.

Death of A List Movie Star Aaron Echolls. Sometimes justice never really did get served. His former college roommate, and best friend Keith Mars deserved that trial to be public. He deserved to be exonerated in front of the Media and town that had called for his removal as Sheriff. It wasn't right that Echolls would never see his day in court.

Lilly Kane deserved better than her killer to get the easy way out.

"You will have Veronica contact her father as soon as you return to Mr Navarro?" he asked Elec as he picked up the discharge slip for the car. He was relieved to hear that she was just out doing her usual sleuthing around. Leticia Navarro was a better influence on young Eli than the tough street kid would ever admit. Now that he was 18, he wouldn't risk getting involved in something that would hurt his chances at graduation. He'd told Cliff often enough during his visits for community service, he might be a bit of a punk sometimes, but he was a good kid underneath it all.

Hell of a mechanic.

Eli had just had to grow up too fast. Father wasn't around and his mother overdosed when he had been only 12 years old, Weevil had taken it upon himself to be the man of the house. He'd certainly done a much better job of caring for his elderly grandmother than his cousin Chardo Navarro who'd been arrested for credit card fraud. If only he'd get out of the gang life before he crossed a line. During his "rule" the PCH biker attacks on local businesses were less severe, usually minor things and the occasional grand theft auto were never on anyone who couldn't afford it. As unsettling as it was to hear that Veronica was getting mixed up with the gang, Weevil had been raised well enough that he would keep her out of any real danger.

"Lo tienes jefe" Elec nodded, shaking the older man's hand. Elec Perez was another enigma in the PCHer ranks, his half-brother, Cervando Esparza-Luna, had been one of the bus crash victims a few months ago. He had a fierce street reputation but rarely participated in most of the usual gang activities, and spent most of his time around the community centre helping in the RAICES Project with the Refugee and Immigrant Centre for Education and Legal Services. He regularly provided translation services when Cliff had to interview non-english speaking family members of his clients, and by most accounts, was a bit of player.

'He tattooed his dick with tears because it straight up murders bitches' one of the younger PCHer volunteers had informed Cliff on one occasion. Certainly not the kind of young man Keith would like his tenacious teenage private detective to be dating.

"You see that she does" Cliff said in farewell as he placed the papers into his briefcase and glanced at his watch, then towards the front doors where Deputy Leo D'Amato and Deputy Duke White tried to keep the Press and Photographers who hadn't yet been arrested outside the Sheriff's Office. His Client Logan Echolls was missing; when Keith had called he'd already been on his way to the Sheriff's station to collect the GPS data from his ankle monitor and insist to save himself a lot of Bail Bondsmen paperwork for when Logan was eventually found. 09er children had that sense of entitlement that meant, they didn't usually make very good master criminals, most never seemed to think that its not a good idea to pay for their getaway hotel rooms with their trust fund accounts or Mummy and Daddy's credit card.

Sighing he ushered the three Latino teenagers out the door ahead of him as they used the little known, staff exit to get out.

Rosita Garcia, one of Sheriff Lambs least favorite journalists was still asking him several questions while the news crews and press took notes.

"As of an hour ago, there is now a sizable reward for information leading to the location and recapture of the Fugitive son of Aaron Echolls. Details will be provided, and a dedicated tip line is being set up right here alongside the State Troopers, Border Patrol and our good friends from San Diego Police Department, under the direction of ADA Victor Bloomfield and District Attorney Forrell" Sheriff Lamb said, as he put both hands on either side of his Podium. His gestures were so exaggerated to make him look tough he appeared like William Shatners performance of Captain Kirk.

"It is unknown as to his movements in the last few hours since he slipped off his electronic monitoring device, but we can confirm that in the hours since his disappearance, there had been no contact been father and son. If you do know anything about the whereabouts of Logan Echolls, please do contact the Sheriffs Department, either via our facebook page, our website or by the number which will be regularly broadcast via our local radio streaming service for updates. Thank you" He continued and Elec shook his head in disgust, cursing under his breath. That guy must think he was using his job as a stepping stone for something better, every television interview he'd ever seen with the douche looked like he was auditioning for Blue Bloods or Chicago PD.

There was just something about the energy that guy carried that was completely self-serving. He created an atmosphere that anyone was the ant under his magnifying glass, even though all he really was, was some punk ass little bitch with a stupid badge and a gun. He helped perpetuate the unequal design of Neptune by dealing under the table and trampling over those he was supposed to protect. At least the old Sheriff, although not perfect and basically a human lie detector capable of seeing through all the PCH BS, had been honest, something that Elec could respect during their interrogations, but there was nothing to be admired about a man who manipulated the system for his own selfish reasons.

Elec hadn't really cared about the competence of the Law enforcement of Neptune, only in regards to its ability to land his ass in a cell, until the first week of School when his mother had called him with news that his half-brother had been killed in a fatal Bus Crash. Watching his creature of habit mother, call into a flurry of busy schedules and routines to avoid dealing with the truth of their loss had been a bitter pill to swallow. Cervando had been the kid who was supposed to make it, didn't always have a lot of street intelligence to go with those Harvard-worthy brains of his.

"Gura y tipo wey, estaba allí, y me miró…" Havier chatted to his cousin as they walked towards his truck.

"No mames" Matteo complained, trying to encourage the younger man to shut up. "Voy a pasar el resto de mi puta vida tras las rejas por esta mierda, gracias a ti güey"

"Te lo juro! ¡Es neta!" Havier exclaimed defensively.

"¡Dime la neta!" Matteo growled and yanked the bag of their belongings out of his hand. Luckily, he'd had enough sense to throw the flick-knife he usually carried under the seat when they'd been pulled over, but Havier was still too drunk to tell him if he'd been found with a weapon or not. Being under 18, it wouldn't be much more than a slap on the wrist for him, but Matteo was 18, and already had two priors, last thing he needed was to be picked up by the Sheriff's department carrying a weapon.

"¿Qué chingados esta pasando aqui?" Elec demanded when he finally said goodbye to Cliff.

"No mames wey estuvo bien chingón!" Havier grinned, before he was rewarded with a swift slap up the side of his head.

"I was supposed to go over tonight, Brie is gonna kill me man" Matteo sighed as he flicked through his calls and saw the several missed calls from his girlfriend.

"Si ella terminó contigo pues ¡chinga su madre wey! ¡Qué idiota!" Havier announced drunkenly, that tie flask of his must be completely empty from the way he was acting.

Kid was such a damn lightweight…

"Act like a puppy, I'll train you like one" Elec grumbled as he pulled out his keys and tossed them to Matteo. "Take him home, tuck him in" he ordered as he pulled out his own cell phone and fired off a text.

*Wua Vato?*

"Ai wey déjame tranquilo" Matteo grumbled, shrugging him off as Havier tried to lean over his shoulder to read his texts, and he showed Elec the latest about that chick his girlfriend had been trying to hook him up with recently.

"Ya no quiero salir con ella…" Elec said, shaking his head.

Level 5 clinger…

"Get in the car!" Matteo said, shoving Havier off him.

"¡Sale, vamos!" Havier burped as he reached for the door and slid into the front seat.

"Es hora de chingarle!" Elec shrugged as he turned towards the press, noticing Letty Hernandez, the reporter for the Tribune who had covered the PCH side of the Felix murder hearing during the summer standing in the corner. He often met her down at the center. If anyone would have the inside scoop on what was going on down in Balboa County Prison where Aaron Echolls had decided to shuffle off to have his deeds judged by his maker, it would be her.

Weevil and the little blonde, who was hot… if you were into white girls… be looking for this Echolls kid. He wanted answers. He was about to call her over when his phone buzzed in his hand, startling, mostly because Weevil didn't usually call unless it was something he didn't want a text trace for.

"De verdad, te has vuelto loco güey" he sighed picking up the phone.

"Hello?" a panicked quiet female voice answered.

"Hey.." Elec replied, stopping in his tracks.

Why the Hell would someone girl have Weevils phone? Was he hurt?

Elec had heard grumblings about an internal power struggle for the last few weeks, mumblings about needing new leadership, and questioning whether Weevil was still fit to be in charge, but he'd mostly thought it was just discontent, that it would die down. Still if there'd been a threat, he'd have had Weevils back… he just think there had been a spark big enough to trigger an uprising just yet.

"What's going on? Where's Weevil?" Elec asked.

"I don't know… we got separated" she said in a hushed voice. She was obviously in trouble, frightened, and from the hush sounds of her words. Hiding from someone.

"Is that Veronica?" Elec questioned uneasily.

 _Had Thumper's little troop decided to move up their plans for revolution?_

"Yes" she replied in a panicked response.

"Are you hurt?" he encouraged, turning to signal Matteo to stop taking off from the car park.

"No…" she answered, sounding distracted.

"Where are you?" he continued as Havier screwed up his face when Elec gestured for him to get in the back. He looked towards the Sheriff's department, they were already out looking for her and Weevil. He'd just get caught up in an interrogation room, then the holding cell with some incompetent red tape if he went in there now.

 _He had to contact Cliff or her father…_

"I don't know where exactly...I'm lost on some kind of island, we were on a boat... " she sobbed helplessly. "I'm not alone…."


	39. Chapter 39

(Moxy – Out of the Darkness)

This entire day had been something like the plot of one of Logan's father's movies. Panic was flooding though her veins, instincts screaming for her to run playing through each coherent thought like a siren, making it almost impossible to strategize.

Weevil and Logan hadn't made it back to the Jetski loading dock, she had barely had time to pick up her clothes and check Weevil's leather jacket for anything useful and grab the bag containing the life-raft, waiting on them before she grabbed her flung the raft into the water as a decoy when the sound of male voices had charged towards her direction, she'd been unable to do much more than grab the bag containing Weevils keys and Cellphone before abandoning the jacket and hiding beneath one of the discarded Jetski covers they had tossed to the side earlier. Praying that she wouldn't be discovered, clutching onto the small empty flare gun. Weevil had kept the cartridges in his pocket, but they were either still in his pockets, or they hadn't survived the trip over. Maybe there was some in one of the small vessels stowed in the internal slipway of the Blue Moon.

Veronica discovered when she eventually risked a peek when it went eerily quiet that they'd launched two of the Jetskis and a small speedboat into the water in pursuit of something. Firing gunshots at their target, the distracted Jetskis were circling around the empty life-raft, using the opportunity, she finally made it onto the upper deck again undetected, hiding in a small utility cupboard. It was one of the few times she was genuinely grateful that a year of bullying last year had taught her she could easily fit into confined spaces. The small cupboard was a lot roomier than the Pam High locker the football team and cheerleaders had trapped her inside after her photography coverage of their away game.

The Maverick… was heading back towards the shoreline… she'd seen it from the window. She wasn't sure if Logan and Weevil had made it onto the small yacht or not. She just knew that for now, she had no way off the Blue Moon unless the Calvary that Dick had promised really were on their way.

 _Those flares… surely someone would be coming for them soon?_

She heard the sound of the boats returning, a small army of Russian voices speaking but she couldn't understand them. Jake Kane hadn't appeared to have done much more than scream and shout, she could hear him from her hiding place berating the staff until the sound of a chopper roared over the waves. The light appearing beneath the small door.

 _Was that the Coast Guard?_

Encouraged, she slipped from her spot and looked out at the large chopper circling the water, a spot light on the rear of the ship opposite them.

 _Was that the life-raft? What were they doing?_

Veronica felt her stomach drop and dread made her blood run cold.

 _No… No… NO… This couldn't be happening…_

Were they landing on the Helipad of the Russian Super Yacht?

They weren't searching anymore. They'd stopped looking and the Vessel she'd noticed on the Horizon appeared to have halted its approach. They weren't coming.

Whatever was going on was too far away to see clearly, it appeared like the Rescue Personnel from the Chopper were talking to one of the Chief Security people, they disappeared for a few minutes and then whatever exchange followed ended with the other man turning around and boarding his aircraft.

Seemingly satisfied.

They were leaving… and she had no way to signal them from here.

 _She was trapped!_

Normally Vinnie Van Lowe didn't like to pass along information unless there was business dealing or a price he could attach to it, but as he strolled into Mars Investigations, he felt inexplicably compelled to bring the photographs that he'd been hired by Svetlana Bulgakov to take of Logan Echolls on behalf of her employer… he had assumed it was some kind of Holywood Lifetime movie research or some sort of Was he being adopted by the Kanes? tabloid story about the Echolls kids strange roommate situation with his dead ex-girlfriends brother.

He hadn't expected to come across the little love triangle romance between Duncan Kane, whom he'd guessed she was dating based on all the covert visits she'd spent sneaking off to the hotel room at the Neptune Grand and leaving early in the morning. Only to find her lip locked with Logan Echolls on the board walk a few nights ago.

Vinnie shook his head, teenagers changed partners like a game of musical chairs. Oh to be that age again… all the cheerleaders in this town looked nothing like the ones in the high school he'd grown up in.

Still, part of him was only here to try and track down a lead, maybe offer to team up to bring Echolls back in, and the other was the sense of professional courtesy he felt with his rival Private Investigator to help keep his kid safe. Keith Mars should know if his girl was involved with this fugitive, she was a smart girl, pretty, and she had annoying plucky attitude that could encourage her to overestimate those smarts and land herself in a lot of trouble. Hell of a way to ruin her potential future… and if her father happened to track her Cellphone. Then storm off to find her shacked up in a little teenage love-nest with Echolls… _would it really be such a violation if he'd just happened to be following Keith and made the arrest?_

 _Who knows… maybe his Lawyer friend would be interested in using the fact he was hired to snoop on Echolls as grounds for reasonable doubt?_

"Elec said the call came in about ten minutes but she'd had to cut the call short" Cliff told him, the voices muffled coming from the main office. "She had no idea exactly where they are but she made him swear to tell you that your equipment was in her car" he added handing the discharge slip to Keith.

"I need to get down to the impound lot… I have to get a hold of my GPS locater" Keith said in a hurried voice as he came out of his office, pulling his coat on as he did.

"Keith.. bad time?" Vinnie said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Not now Vinnie" Keith warned as he headed to his small kitchen to open the small hidden safe he kept behind the picture of a bowl of fruit. Pulling out extra ammo clips and some cuffs.

"Actually… I have some important news to give you about your daughter…" Vinnie said, putting his hands up in surrender, the envelope in one hand, reaching it out to him.

"What is this?" Keith asked quickly.

"Photographs of Veronica and Logan Echolls…. I was hired by this woman a few weeks ago to watch Echolls… I didn't even know your daughter was involved" he promised.

"I already know she's involved with Echolls… I have to go…" Keith said, dismissing the papers and turning to pull a bullet proof vest out of the safe.

 _He should call Sheriff Lamb… as soon as he got the GPS locater… he needed to search the Coast Guard logs, find out where there had been reports of trouble on the water around Neptune tonight… narrow down his search…_

"Someone was following Logan Echolls?" Cliff asked, picking up the files.

"I was following Logan Echolls, for about the last three weeks now, they had me looking into that bus crash too" Vinnie confirmed.

"The same person hired you?" Cliff frowned.

"Some Russican chick" Vinnie nodded.

What possible connection could Logan Echolls have with the bus crash?

"Who hired you?" Keith demanded.

He hated this… the fear… the danger his baby girl was in… he'd tried to get her out of this life after that fight with Aaron Echolls, and the fire had almost killed them both. He liked to face down demons that he could see coming, but this.. there were too many unknown variables. He was going to have a serious talk with his daughter about her investigations if they got through this.

He'd keep her away from that family, even if he had to move them off-grid to live in the wilderness in a Yurt.

"UH… may I?" Vinnie asked, reaching his hand out to Cliff for the pictures and he began to sift through the mess of papers, post it notes and receipts, the billing information was scribbled onto the back of one of those bits of paper someplace. "It just has a corporate billing address"

"Which is?" Cliff asked dryly.

"K&K Software Solutions…" he answered and Keiths green eyes snapped to Cliffs.

K&K Software Solutions was a subsidiary of Kane Industries.

 _A smoking gun that Jake Kane had been spying on Logan Echolls._


	40. Chapter 40

(Why Don't We - In Too Deep)

"What do you like run around stealing men's trousers or something?" Dick asked as he held up the jeans that Daisy had just handed over and she glared at him like she would strip layers of skin off him. It really surprised her that surfer boy here didn't have a man bun.

 _Frat house material._

"You would be surprised the kind of things that end up in our Lost and found after the summer foam parties" she replied dryly giving few of the promotional t-shirts and shorts over to Weevil and Logan. "I'm not sure about the sizes, but it's definitely better than staying in those wet clothes."

Logan nodded and winced as he tried to lift up his shirt to change. "Dammit… I really wish you would just let me take you to the Hospital" Daisy grumbled as she helped steady him back up onto the table. A shadow crossed his expression and she knew it would be useless to argue. "Fine" she agreed and helped him towards the manager's office to help him get out of the sodden clothes he was wearing and to look him over for any worrisome discoloration on his ribs.

"Just my colour" Weevil grumbled as Toni picked out one of the purple Inferno Bywater Ales t-shirts and tossed it to him. Second time he'd changed out of his clothes tonight he muttered to himself as he headed towards the men's bathroom to change.

"Why didn't you get wet?" Toni asked Mac as she stood beside Logan repacking up the disinfectant and offered her one of the small Indie Band brand hoodies. The Mermaid Inn wasn't the warmest in the evenings after the crowds of customers had left and the heating was switched off.

"Oh she did" Dick tossed over his shoulder as he plucked up a bright yellow t-shirt and followed Weevil to the bathroom. Flustered and embarrassed she stared after him her mouth dropped open in shock at the nerve snapping it shut again as he turned and met her glare head on grinning before he disappeared into the bathroom.

 _Jerk!_

Toni looked down at the petite brunette and his gaze didn't waver as she pulled on the hoodie and folded her arms over her stomach defensively.

"I didn't get off the boat…" Mac explained, her voice breaking with the words, and she blinked, forcing back the tears.

Veronica had… she'd gotten off the Maverick to go and save Logan and she hadn't made it back. Toni held out a small can of soda and nodded towards the seats, sitting down on the adjacent lounger. She didn't seem like the kind of kid who would usually be mixed up in something like all of this. Out of all of this little rag-tag band of misfits who had crashed into his night, she seemed like the most innocent. She definitely didn't belong amongst these other guys and it brought out a protective instinct in him, she was about the same age as his niece Lucille. She should be worrying about Prom dresses not gun wielding men in suits.

"How did you end up on that boat in the first place?" Toni asked gently.

"I was helping a friend… and now she's… I mean she could be… we didn't mean to leave her behind… but by the time the guys got back onto the boat, and we turned. There were men with guns and jet ski's coming into the water after us… and we could barely see anything" she sobbed.

 _How could they just have left her behind like that? Oh God… how could she tell Mr Mars they'd just abandoned Veronica? Were those men on shore now?_

 _Would they be looking for them?_

 _They were bound to have found her car parked at the Marina… Did they have Sheriff Lamb looking for her too? Were they going to go after her family?_

The room was too small, there was no air. Those men would find them… they'd beaten Logan senseless… Weevil had told her that he thought Jake Kane had used those men to murder Aaron Echolls. _Who knows what they would do to her family to lure them out of hiding…._

"Hey! Girly…. Breathe…." Toni said, reaching a large black hand out to grip her shoulder. "It's a panic attack… just breathe…." He soothed, his gaze looking towards the office door where Daisy had disappeared with the Logan kid.

"They're going to find us.." she cried. What had she been thinking hacking into Jake Kane's computers? She was looking at some serious jail time… kids like her with skills like that tended to disappear in the system, they were recruited by faceless alphabet soup organizations. She didn't have the money that Dick and Logan had to just disappear out of harm's way. _How did you even begin to hide from the Russian Mafia anyway?_

"You said they had pictures?" Daisy frowned as she absorbed the latest bit of unsettling news from Logan.

"They'd been following me for weeks" He nodded.

"Weeks… so they definitely know that you hang out here" Daisy sighed, raking a hand through her long dark hair.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to bring this to your door…" Logan croaked. He'd really screwed up this time… He'd gotten Veronica and all his friends tied up in this car crash of his life. Only it wasn't so much a car crash anymore… it was a multicar pile up.

 _He didn't even want to begin to count the fatalities…_

Veronica wouldn't have come to find him if he hadn't kissed her, if he hadn't made her admit that still had feelings for him. She'd be safe, curled up on the couch in his Neptune Grand Penthouse watching terrible pre-Millennium Nicolas Cage movies.

"Sorry? Did you **ASK** to get kidnapped by Lunatics?" Daisy asked sarcastically as she handed over some pain killers. "Cocodamol and ibuprofen" she encouraged him, she couldn't rule out fractures to the ribs, or internal bleeding, but so far his breathing seemed to have eased. His face had begun to swell up, his lips were split in a few places and he would have one hell of a black eye in a few hours if it didn't completely swell shut.

Logans haunted eyes looking up into hers as she handed him the ice pack and he followed her back into the bar area. He could barely recall much of the fight in the stairwell when he'd knocked that bottle into Dimitri's head and shoved him over the small coffee table and charged Yuri, hurling them both down the stairs. He hadn't been giving much thought as to how he was going to get off the boat, he'd just known he had to get away. Dimitri began opening fire at him, then Weevil had been hauling him upwards, pulling him out of the way. He hadn't realised what was happening until he saw Veronica standing there, feet planted, the flare gun raised. Then everything had gotten fuzzy, he must be concussed. They'd been separated, Weevil pushing him into the freezing water.

 _Weevil couldn't swim… he'd gotten onto that Yacht… knowing about the Mafia, the guns, and launched himself between a gun and Logan to get him off that ship… and then hurled them both into the water without a life-vest, knowing that he couldn't swim._

He looked over at the Hispanic teenager emerging from the bathroom with a frown. Weevil blamed him for Felix… why would he risk his life for him?

One more question to torment him about the events of this night if they survived.

 _If **she** didn't…_

"Now what?" Weevil asked, echoing his thoughts.

"Well… we can't stay here" Daisy answered, picking her phone off the bar and glancing at the time. Her boyfriend was still working the night shift security down at the Neptune Grand hotel and if Logan was right and those goons had been watching him for weeks, then they definitely had some snaps of his time here. She ran through a mental list of random faces she hadn't seen before, trying to pin point if there had been any in particular that stood out. No Russians came to mind but there was that P.I. Toni used to complain about been snooping around recently.

Vinnie Van Lowe. He'd been barred after the Honey Trap he'd set up on a wealthy 09er business man ended in a brawl when his plot had backfired.

"Lamb is looking for you man… it ain't exactly like we can just stroll up to the Camelott… after those Bum Fights last years, and the Tinseltown Diaries, everyone knows your face. The Paparazzi are gonna be all over looking for you after…" Dick warned, his voice trailing off.

After the death of Aaron Echolls.

"I can't take you back to my place either… if they know about the bar, then they probably know you're my landlord… and it ain't like I haven't dropped you off at the Neptune Grand before, so they will probably be familiar with my car" Daisy sighed thinking about her pink GTO parked out back. It wasn't in her to just abandon someone when they needed help, but she honestly wasn't sure what she could do.

"Uber?" Mac suggested but she knew the idea was ridiculous, even those in their group who wouldn't be recognised, they would trace the request right to the bar and find out where they were dropped off.

 _How the hell was someone supposed to go off-grid in the techno-age?_

"Toni… do you still have the keys to that house-sitting gig Clarence banned Lucille from after that party last weekend?" Daisy pondered, thinking of the complaints her colleague had been making about having to water the plants before his shifts this week.

"Daze.. nuh-uh… why are you digging us deeper into this?" he protested, shaking his head, hand instinctively clutching the keys in his pocket.

"Antonio… come on… it's perfect…." she complained, her brown eyes fixed on his as he shook his head.

"I didn't even want to let them in here… now you want me to harbour fugitives?" he asked incredulously.

"I want you to look at them tell me I'm wrong…" Daisy countered as she placed a hand on Mac's shoulder. Each of the teenagers looking between the older African-American man and Daisy. Relenting as he looked into Mac's scared grey eyes, he sighed, knowing that his petite companion had won this round.

"What's perfect?" Weevil demanded.

"I think I have somewhere for you to lay low but I'm not sure how exactly we are gonna get you there" Daisy explained. "They've been spying on Logan, so I'm not sure we can trust them not to be a few steps ahead of us. This is a tech mogul who supplies Neptune and the State of California with the CCTV surveillance system… it wouldn't take much for him to get a trace on my car"

"Dude… maybe I should call my dad's lawyer… ?" Dick offered.

"And tell them what exactly? That we broke into Kane Software systems and now the Russian Mob, the FBI and the Sheriffs department is after us?" Mac asked with a bitter laugh. Rich boys answer for everything… Call someone else to fix the mess and throw money at the problem.

 _Didn't he understand how much danger they were in? Didn't he care that he'd basically abandoned a girl in the middle of the ocean with no way back? It was okay for him, he could hop onto his private jet and fly away from here.. what was she supposed to do? What was her **family** supposed to do?_

Something in the way she questioned him drew a protective instinct out of Dick and for the first time in a while, he didn't just dismiss her words as hysterical ramblings of the women folk. Part of this mess was his fault, he'd taken them out there… he'd sent Veronica and Weevil onto that boat when he probably should have just turned back as soon as they found out about Logan being on-board the Blue Moon. It wasn't like they hadn't had the evidence on her laptop. She was afraid, her pouty lips were quivering, filling him with a thousand temptations and too much guilt.

They knew too much.

Secrets were dangerous… and a rich guy like Jake Kane would send some folks to their grave to keep them. He would help her stay in the wind… he'd keep the sexy hacker chick safe, how he wasn't exactly sure. Her eyes cut upward, heat creeping into her cheeks as she realized he was staring at her, and his fingertips itched to caress that smooth skin. Despite the anger that had laced her words, her limbs had the strength of melted butter. _This was not the time to be getting distracted by the memory of that kiss…_ she scolded herself, _it wasn't like she'd never seen a man's naked chest before… or had it pressed up against her…_ she broke eye contact and glanced over at Logan who looked like he'd just stepped off a quick trip to Hell.

Weevil asked to borrow Daisy cell phone, suggesting that he try getting hold of the PCHers to arrange transport, as his phone was currently laying on the floor of the Blue Moon internal jetski slip way. There were several calls before it looked like he finally got through to someone and they began arranging for a 'liberated' hen party bus to come and collect them.

Dick's brow pulled into an angry scowl, he didn't like Mac sitting there in that little huff trying to pretend he wasn't even in the room. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm guessing a limo service is out of the question?" he sighed, rubbing a hand through his mussed up blonde hair.

"Would you like a personal escort too?" Mac retorted shaking her head in disbelief.

"Are you mad at me?" Dick demanded as she regarded him with an unsubtle amount of side-eyeing. "I don't hear you coming up with suggestions…"

"You left her there!" Mac snapped and a flicker of annoyance crossed his face.

"It's not like we had much of a choice" Dick countered, casting a quick glance towards Logan. His thoughtful expression trained on the little exchange going on between them. He knew they'd have to have this discussion eventually, his friend would probably never forgive him for leaving the girl he loved behind like that but even the best laid plans went awry.

"How am I supposed to be focused on _anything_ when we don't know if she's alive or dead?" Mac demanded, his sickening nonchalant confidence despite their situation bordered on conceit. There was a heavy silence between them before he spoke again.

"I miscalculated…" he admitted. He couldn't make excuses… nothing he was thinking was worth saying out loud. He'd hoped that the Coast Guard would have gotten to Veronica on time, that the Sea Patrol or something would have searched the vessels and she'd have been found. Mac's shoulders slumped a little and her slate-grey eyes began to fill with tears, again. He bent forwards, unable to bare to look at her.

Swerve, and avoid was his usual modus operandi when it came to ladies and their emotions. He swallowed and closed his eyes, about to open them and offer her some words of comfort when he heard a loud thud.

"Oh God!" Daisy swore. "Logan?" she said, trying to shake him awake. It was all a blur, images of frantic hands and words tumbling over each other as Logan fought to stay conscious. Exactly how many times had he been knocked in the head over the last few hours.

"Man, come on!" Dick demanded as Toni handed Daisy a pillow that was being settled behind Logan's head.

"What the Hell's wrong with him?" Weevil demanded.

"I know we didn't want to do this… but he needs a hospital!" Mac said, the words bursting from her mouth in a rush.

"Screw it… I didn't leave her back there for you to die here" Weevil said reaching for phone and beginning to dial an ambulance.

Words tumbled around him in disjointed sentences, he could hear several voices rising as they debated over whether or not to get an ambulance for him.

"Helps coming…" Ton told Daisy as Weevil passed the phone back to her.

"Weeves… I didn't kill Felix.." Logan swore to the other tattooed man standing just a foot away. He had to know that, his pulse picking up speed as the room began to spin again.

"Don't talk…" Daisy soothed, trying to get his eyes to focus.

"Find her…." Logan murmured almost incoherently before he slumped back into the darkness.


	41. Chapter 41

(Dorothy - Missile)

A private island. A private freaking yacht moored up on a private freaking island. What she wouldn't give for some painkillers… or a sandwich... Hell, even one of the day-old cinnamon rolls from Java the Hut sounded good to her right now. Her stomach churning, wishing she'd at least tried to eat something earlier, but she'd been too focused on finding a way to locate Logan.

 _Was he safe? Had Weevil and Logan made it back onto The Maverick with Dick and Mac? Had they even made it back to shore?_

The small Kane Industries promotional hoodie wasn't providing much warmth as she crept around the outside the mid-level deck. Most of the crew seemed to have made their way ashore or to the neighbouring vessel. She really wished she had her own phone instead of Weevils cell phone. It was a Nokia 3310, unhackable but meant she didn't have access to Google translator to try and figure out what they were saying.

Teen detective with an eye for detail and a knack for getting into trouble that had somehow landed her in this mess. She had no idea if she was still in the US or if she was now on an island someplace off the coast of Mexico… how far out from Neptune had they come exactly?

Lucky the crew doing their foot patrol around the Blue Moon were favouring the side closest to shore, the sea breeze cutting across the deck was chilling. She just knew she had to get out of here before she was discovered; these guys had the reach to get to Aaron Echolls all the way in Federal Custody. She didn't need her dad trying any heroics to try and take on the Kane's again.

 _What would she even say if they found her anyways? Sorry… was just out here watching the dance of the Manta Rays?_

 _Ingenuity and courage Mars… time to escape from behind enemy lines…_

She'd need a strange kind of luck and all the survival skills she could muster to get out of this alive. Thankfully, Weevil had been paranoid enough about getting onto the Maverick, he'd insisted on having his life-vest and the waterproof zip-lock pouch for his phone… which is exactly how she'd managed to get through to Elec. Palming the device in her hand, she prayed silently that her dad was on his way to get the GPS locater from her car. The injuries Logan had when she'd last seen him were not promising, the entire affair struck her as somewhat of a desperate gamble. She had figured out the identity of her nemesis and unfortunately it wasn't her hallucinating enemies. It was Lilly's father, the man who had been having an affair with her mother while his daughter was being murdered, an affair that had probably gone on for years if that yearbook inscription was any indication. The man who'd run her father out of office… they say that girls usually chose men who were just like their fathers. She remembered the press performance he'd made during his passionate plea for the citizens of Neptune to help him remove the 'bumbling Sheriff' who was actually getting too close to the truth. Jake Kane had been the picture of the heartbroken father and yet he'd been covering up what he thought was his sons culpability in his daughters murder. When she'd watched the footage back after her discovery of those tapes, it had all been there in his paralanguage, and there had been some non-verbal cues in his body language, he wasn't as practised a liar as the A List Movie Star… but his posture proved he was just as much of a sociopath.

 _Jake Kane was as much as a Media Manipulating Puppet Master as Aaron Echolls… She just hadn't noticed before…_

She'd suspected that her father had been right about Jake Kane last year when she'd caught Clarence Weidman's bug in that pencil sharpener. She had understood his desire to protect Duncan after she found those medical records… it didn't excuse what that family had done to hers, but she'd understood it. Even the killing of Aaron Echolls, she'd been tempted to pull the trigger herself when she'd been holding that gun at him. His voice still haunted her nightmares and there had been times she'd wondered if pulling that trigger would have brought her some kind of peace.

But Jake going after Logan? That she couldn't wrap her head around.

 _Focus Veronica… try and work out the crazy mans motivation later… escape now…_

"Lodka byla naydena" a deep masculine voice called from behind the door to her left.

 _Shit!_

Veronica looked along the length of the ship, there was no way she could make it back that way in time before they came out. She glanced over the rail beside her. She had no idea how deep that water was, but if she stayed where she was, then she would be found. Grabbing firm hold of the phone in her hand, she climbed up onto the side and listened closely. The last thing she wanted to do was abandon the yacht on some unknown island in the ocean.

 _Yep. The voices were definitely coming this way!_

She closed her eyes rightly, trying to remember everything her swim coach last year had taught her, physical damage from surface impact was not something to take lightly, but at least she wasn't jumping from the upper deck like she'd assumed that Logan and Weevil had had to. Counting to three, she pushed herself off and plunged into the freezing cold water.

"I don't have time for your problems Keith… in case you didn't notice, this town kind of needs its Sheriff right now" Sheriff Lamb said dismissively, doing his best to avoid saying anything in front of the press hounds currently set up camp in the station doorway.

"Donald please…" Cliff tried to reason with him. "If we could just have a moment or two of your time…"

"Unless what you got to say has to do with the disappearance of my fugitive, I'm not interested" Lamb retorted shaking his head as he picked up a file from the tip-line operator. Keith Mars glared at the taller man and tried to swallow the rage. Typical good for nothing waste of uniform space. He was about as effective as a cardboard cut-out… and what infuriated him was that Don Lamb didn't have to be. He'd come through the academy with flying colours, he was fit and had a wealth of advantages and self-assurance that Deputy's like Sachs could never hope to achieve… and yet he was a lazy, corner cutting, social climbing troll. He used his talents to exploit those he should have been protecting, and it made the older private detective sick to his stomach. God forbid some poor defenceless girl ever show up here actually needed the bastard to solve a crime, he doubted he'd pull himself away from the twinkling lights and press sound bite opportunities to even acknowledge them.

"Folder in your hand make you feel like you are working?" Keith ground out. "I'm surprised the department doesn't have the phones set on Do Not Disturb"

"Is there some desperate conspiracy theory you just have to get out of your crackpot head Mars, or are we sticking with the classics? The Kane's did it?" Sheriff Lamb quipped, rolling his eyes and picking up the personalised white Neptune Sheriff's Department Coffee Mug and walking away towards his office.

"Mr Van Lowe here would like to make a statement to you regarding Logan Echolls" Keith informed him, handing over the brown envelop in his hand containing the surveillance photographs that his business rival had been contracted to collect of the Echolls boy.

"What's this? The submissions for the Neptune Dirty Pic 2019?" Lamb sighed; he hated having contact with the former Sheriff… it always led to so much damn paperwork and questions from the new Mayoral Candidate, Woody Goodman. There had even been rumblings about a recount of the results of the recent elections, it had been close… but thankfully that PR stunt Deputy Ryan's suggested of linking the ill-fated bus driver with Keith Mars's time on active duty for a bogus unenforced DUI had muddied the waters of public opinion regarding the older man.

"You need to contact the Coast Guard, get the location of any incidents reported on the water tonight…" Keith urged him. He'd have done it himself, but unfortunately, Sea Patrol and the Marina harbour police weren't under his influence like the Border Police. GPS for the Kane ship wasn't working, they hadn't been able to contact Veronica in the last twenty minutes. He needed Lamb to be the one to make that call… because if he had to, he'd have to report Veronica as missing and the bastard would make him wait the full 48 hours and that would be too damn long.

"Where's that girl of yours Keith?" Lamb taunted, not even bothering to open the envelope. No doubt he'd have to pour his coffee into a thermos and go have to make another press announcement by the time he was finished looking over whatever little breadcrumb had gotten the tenacious Gumshoe all up in arms. "Isn't she up in the Penthouse of the Neptune Grand like a good girl on her knees for Duncan Kane?" Lamb frowned, looming over the shorter man and he smirked as Cliff put a hand on his friends shoulder and pulled him back. He'd love the former Sheriff to make a mistake, to strike him in front of all these cameras. He'd haul him into that holding cell so fast, and spend the rest of the week figuring out what else he could file against him before pressing charges for assaulting a police officer. "I'm going to assume whatever this is… is going to ruin my already horrible night… so why don't you just save me the leg work Mars?"

"I was hired about two months ago by a woman called Svetlana Bulgakov to do some _investigative work_ on behalf of her client on a Mr Logan Echolls… which was entirely legal of course, as he is definitely 18 years of age… so the photographs there of him and a Ms Casablancas are entirely above board…" Vinnie yammered and the Sheriff arched a brow. He'd met the stunningly hot Ms Casablancas during the interview about her husband's whereabouts.

 _Some of these pictures might be worth a look after all…_

"And?" Lamb said, gesturing for him to hurry it along and get to the point.

"The company is a shell corporation owned by Kane Industries" Keith told him a cold, hard voice. If he didn't need him to get on the phone and contact the Coast Guard he'd be down at the Marina trying to charter a boat or a chopper to take him to go find his daughter.

"So you are wasting my time… to tell me about Jake Kane investigating Logan Echolls roughly about the time of his moving into the Neptune Grand with his son?" Lamb scoffed. "It might have escaped your notice, Mars, what with you living under that Rock in your office… but the boy's father as it turned out… did allegedly murder the man's daughter, as your daughter so skilfully pointed out… maybe we should put HER on the case… since you seem to be losing your touch. I'm not seeing anything wrong here" he added before tossing the envelope onto the table beside him and turned towards his office again.

"Will you just look at the damn evidence?!" Keith growled, that Elec kid better get back with that footage soon of Jake Kane's boat down at the Harbour Warehouse Estates. Sheriff Lamb was about to retort something most snide, and probably referencing trips to see the Wizard when a flurry of excitement began from behind them and Deputy Leo D'Amato hurried in past the reporters trying to stop him.

"Sheriff… Mr Mars… you should probably come and see this" Leo declared, urging them towards the television set.

"I thought I sent you home, Deputy…" Lamb warned, he'd told him that there wasn't the money in the budget to approve the overtime, but truthfully, he usually just handed out the easy shifts to his drinking buddy's. D'Amato wasn't exactly amongst his inner circle here in the Department, guy was a bit too much of a do-gooder.

"Sheriff! Sheriff! What do you have to say about the new reports that Logan Echolls has been rushed into Neptune Sacred Heart Hospital?" Roger Stewart for the San Diego Herald asked. He glanced towards Keith Mars, and back at the folder.

"The Department has no news at this time… I will be accompanying Deputy D'Amato here to go to Sacred Heart, and verify the reports for myself, and assess some new information which has just come to our attention… if you could please hold any questions until we have had a chance to work as quickly and diligently as we can to authenticate if there was any possible links between Mr Echolls condition and the recent passing of his father… we would appreciate it, thank you" Sheriff Lamb answered without missing a beat, giving the deputy a pointed look and turning towards Keith Mars, gesturing him to follow him to his office.

His coffee was definitely going to have to go into a Thermos now.

 _Fucking Mars Family… they were a plague..._


	42. Chapter 42

(The Pretty Wreckless – Heaven Knows)

"Remind me again, what exactly I am paying you for?!" Jake Kane shouted at the monitor in his conference room. He pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled deeply to regain his composure.

 _Couldn't anyone do a God-damned thing he said?_

Clarence Weidman barely reacted; he was used to his boss's recent volatility. The last few months since the uncovering of the Kane's illegal handling of the aftermath of Lilly Kane's murder, and his recent marital troubles with the revelations of the several affairs his wife Celeste had discovered, meant the usually jovial Jake Kane had become even more mercurial that the belated Steve Jobs.

"The breach was conducted by a 17 year old girl and one Richard Casablancas. We are moving along the legal channels to trace their whereabouts and inform the proper authorities as soon as possible. It is doubtful given the limited access to the main Kane Industry servers that they became privy to anything of importance" Clarence assured him.

 _Doubtful they had become privy to anything of importance? No… just the kidnapping of Logan Echolls and god knew how long they'd been listening, what they had accessed, or what evidence they'd managed to syphon off._

"I want them found… I want every digital fingerprint she's ever made, located and traced. Don't bother about going through the books, use everyone. Use that Pete Comiscky kid we tapped last year… he went to the same school. He probably has some kind of insight" Jake ordered, disconnecting the call.

"They will be located, my friend, do not worry" Dimitri told him as he waved off the crew doctor and sipped on his drink. Taking a flare gunshot clipping his shoulder, had done little to slow the Russian man down, nor dampened his mood.

"This could ruin me… how did they find him?" Jake growled, his eyes narrowing at the other man's flippant attitude. His question was as pointed as a spear.

 _Yuri's men must have been sloppy, they'd allowed his daughter's killer to get away._

Dimitri let out a low, humourless laugh as he swirled the ice in his glass. "Prey often scurries around, falling into other such weak things in their desperation to get more time... but they will always be caught. Because, you, my friend, are the hunter. We will learn their habits, exploit their weaknesses and they will come to us. The lion does not worry about the wanderings of a lamb because in his world, he is King. He will always eat." He counselled as he handed the other man a drink.

The boat that had been used to get access to his Yacht had been found abandoned in the Neptune harbour, so far, and less than an hour later Logan Echolls had been found by Emergency services at the Neptune Sacred Heart Hospital. Snooping on the hospital sensors had revealed he'd arrived unconscious, but he had no idea where his companions were, or whom else he might have spoken to. This was such a mess… and unfortunately according to the system, Logan Echolls didn't have any other allergies apart from Shellfish… so they couldn't virtually tamper with the medical doses from here. The press were all over the place, a local reporter Letti Hernandez had been filling up the airwaves with reports that the Blue Moon had been seen in Neptune waters around the time of Logan's apparent abduction.

They'd been forced to go dark, and remove the GPS, taking up harbour at a small private residence just south of the Coronado Islands near Tijuana owned by a business partner.

"Release the confession… if I'm going to have to wait while the world watches… the rest of America should know what he did… I want him to have no place to hide" Jake said, forcing the words up his throat, past his teeth and out his mouth. "Release everything, the connection between Curly Moran and the bus crash, the evidence of tampering… I want it all out there…" He jammed his hands in his pockets and kicked the chair beside the corporate desk.

"Jake, my friend… you still get angry like a paper tiger…" Dimitri chuckled solemnly. "When he is arrested… he will meet the same fate as his father… and if he thinks we will not be able to reach him in prison… then we will buy one and put him inside."

"Boss, my dumayem, chto na bortu mozhet byt' kto-to yeshche." a slim man interrupted as he held up a small wet pink hoodie, and Jakes head snapped up.

"What is this?" Jake demanded as Dimitri asked him where it had been found.

"There is someone else with us on this island" he replied, his icy glare hardening as he mentally calculated that this was the same hoodie worn by the petite blonde who had shot at him with that flare gun.


	43. Chapter 43

Viktoria Modesta - Prototype

"If he wasn't already in hospital, I would fucking put him there!" Weevil raged as Mac looked on in horror as the news report repeated the same broadcast of Aaron Echolls sitting confessing that he had been covering up for his son's crime of murdering Lilly Kane. He'd claimed that the video evidence against him had been fabricated by Logan as a revenge prank against Lilly, and that her death had been an accident. Then there was the discovery of the suicide note in Echolls cell, the one claiming that he'd been unable to live with himself after the discovery of his sons involvement in the bus crash that had taken lives of 8 of his classmates and that his son had murdered an old friend of his, David 'Curly' Moran, making him lose all faith that his son was just a tragic youth who'd made a mistake, and that he couldn't lie for him anymore.

 _Begging the world to forgive the A lister for his fatherly failures and that all he had wanted to was to be with his wife._

"Do you think this is real?" Dick asked absently, frowning at the screen with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

 _There was no way that Logan would have done that… if it hadn't been for the stench on that bus, it would have killed Dick and Beaves as well…_

"What's the matter Aquaman… the truth a little unpalatable for you?" Weevil asked as he more connections started being shown like the recent death of David 'Curly' Moran causing him to pause.

 _Wait a second… this was the guy he'd beaten at the Road Hog… the time he'd lost that earring…_

Logan had been having a house party that night. Hell, he'd crashed it along with several of the other PCHers. As far as he knew, Echolls had gotten it together with Melinda Matthews, and the girl's mother had hauled her off to boarding school before the sheets were even dry.

"This is false!" Dick growled at the shorter man.

"Yeah… I'm getting that" Weevil frowned as he looked at the bruising on the autopsy photos flashing across the screen.

 ** _He'd_** _given him those bruises… not Logan._

"Good, because I don't think anyone else is going to" Dick said running a hand through his hair.

Daisy had taken Logan to the Hospital and Toni had driven the rest of them to the safe house a little under an hour ago. Keith Mars was in the background footage of Sheriff Lamb giving some kind of cop version of No Comment.

"I need a computer…" Mac mumbled as she dug into her pocket for the keychain of encryption keys, one of the files she had uploaded before they'd locked her out, acted as a recorder, sending everything to a digital pirates chest over several servers hidden in various back channels on her Hactivist network. She wasn't sure if Kane Industries had discovered her little Trojan yet, but there might be something they could use on there… some kind of leverage. She needed to find it.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist, she left the two boys snapping at each other, going off to find the wi-fi router.

 _No more crying Mac… if Veronica died to get the truth out… then Mac was going to spread the word before these lies whipped Neptune up into a frenzy to lynch Logan Echolls._

"What are you hoping to find up here Biscuit?" Toni asked as he found her looking in the spare bedroom.

 _Figures that the occupants had taken their portable electronics with them on their holiday._

"A computer?" Mac sighed.

"I got a laptop my brother gave me sitting in the trunk of my car, if that'd be any help?" Toni offered, she gave him a once over. He didn't look like he kept up to date with recent advances in technology, and god knows how old it would be, or what defragmenting she would have to do to get it serviceable, but it was more than she had right now. Nodding shyly, he gave her a small smile and he took off down the stairs to get it for her. A rash of swear words filled the room downstairs as Mac walked back into the lavish kitchen, Dick Casablancas was standing holding his finger in his mouth, sucking on it, obviously nursing a burn.

"What kind of teenager doesn't know how to make a pizza?" Weevil asked incredulously, watching the other boy hop around.

"Uh… the kind that just calls and orders one?" Dick pointed out.

 _He really should call Beeves…_

"Well since no one is supposed to know you are here. Can we at least try and be a little more incognito?" Daisy sighed as she returned, Toni following close behind her.

Mac exhaled in surrender as she reached for a slice of the tempting cheesy peperoni pizza, they were already trespassing… Eating all the food in the strangers kitchen didn't seem like that much more of a violation… certainly not when they could be potentially Goldilocking their way into the beds upstairs for the rest of the night until they figured out their next move.

Dick glanced over at her, a brooding expression on his face, almost hungry before he blinked twice and the moment was gone.

"What happened with Echolls?" Weevil asked Daisy, shaking his head to refuse a piece of the charred pizza and reaching for an orange from the fruit bowl. Dick licked some of the sauce from his fingers and listened intently.

"Sheriff Lamb showed up… I wasn't allowed in to see him, they wheeled him away as soon as we rolled up and I wasn't able to get any answers from the nurses… you'd think they'd understand from the News that the poor kids doesn't exactly have any 'immediate family' left" she grumbled.

"I won't be long in finding out" Mac swore as she took the laptop from Toni, her eyes widening in surprise as a Kane's Industries logo popped up.

 _Not just any logo… an internal logo…_

"Where did you get this?" Mac asked quietly in awe. This was an all access pass to Kane Industry systems… she wouldn't have to crack their firewall because this was a remote device that was already buried within it… it was a freaking cyber penthouse suite in the castle of Kane Software. This laptop was still three generations ahead of anything else she'd ever been allowed to play with.

 _#Nerdgasm…_

"My brother gives me his old hand me down models out of work… I only use it for playing candy crush and keeping my social security information" Toni answered, unaware that he'd just handed her the rock to slay Goliath.

"I'm going to need some redbull, and some red vines…" Mac announced reverently.


	44. Chapter 44

A cover of Alexis Berger - You can let go now daddy played over the speakers as they were interrupted when one of Dimitris men brought a in their little stowaway, and Jake almost hung his head in defeat...

why was he truly not surprised?

"She was found lying beneath the bed of the staff quarters just to the south of the house" Alexi announced as he threw Veronica onto the cream foot stool opposite Jake Kane and his large companion. Her blonde sea-drenched hair was curling around her pale cheeks as she looked up at them through a waterfall of hair.

She recognised the other man now… she'd only met him briefly once at Lilly's 15th birthday. He'd given her an expensive silver bracelet that she'd hardly ever taken off. Her sea-blue eyes locked onto Jakes, and he slumped back into his seat, looking at her like he'd checked out, both mentally and emotionally.

"Hello Veronica" he greeted her, barely looking up from the drink in his hand.

"Wish I could say it was nice to see you, Jake" she clipped the words out; her gaze shifting to the other mans bloodied knuckles… the hands he'd used to beat Logan with.

Jake leaned forwards, fury flashing in his stormy blue eyes, the same kind of fire that used to fill Lilly's when she was irritated. _How hard must it be for him to look in the mirror every day and see the echoes of his dead daughter all over his own face?_

He let out a harsh angry breathe as his glass slammed onto the large table between them, she tried not to flinch, but there was something about being around the older Kane that made her feel like a child again.

"What must you be thinking of me right now Veronica…" Jake sighed, heaviness in his tone. Like he was trying to talk over the lump in his throat. "Why don't we just let this situation settle down and we can talk?" he suggested gesturing over her shoulder as yet another strange man she didn't know brought a change of clothes and left them sitting on the adjacent seat. She folded her arms over herself, all too aware of the men with the guns guarding the entrances/exits.

 _Be your Guest? Sure thing crazy…_ Veronica thought bitterly. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd been alone with Jake Kane since Lilly's murder, and none of them had ended well, the last time had been during the Echolls Family Christmas party when Aaron Echolls had been stabbed last year, when she'd confronted him about those photos Celeste had used to blackmail her mother. Her stomach growled and she shifted uncomfortably.

"You really think coffee and a chat is going to sort all this out?" Veronica asked sardonically, if she'd been standing this was usually the part where she'd jam her hands in her pockets and rock on her heels.

What had happened to him? This wasn't the guy who'd hosted her 15th birthday party in his backyard and flew the Pep Squad and Lilly out to San Francisco for a week to meet Lady Gaga. Then again, this is also the man who'd probably been screwing her mother in his home office while she sat by the pool with Duncan and Lilly eating birthday cake.

"No… because I doubt my espresso machine makes anything strong enough to raise the dead" he offered sadly. He felt like death warmed over, gazing down at his glass that had been filled to the brim not so long ago, now it was mostly melted ice-cubes and water. He looked at the young woman opposite him, she was the vision of her mother.

Lianne Reynolds had been the love of his life until that drunken night at a sorority house party and he'd had the misfortune of meeting his wife during his freshmen year. Lianne had stayed home to help out in the family hardware store and they'd agreed to take a short break for a while until he'd gotten settled at Hearst, his class schedule had been full but it was one of those rare nights out with the boys from The Castle, and he couldn't turn them down. That was the night his entire life had changed course… he'd been frogmarched down the aisle by Celeste's wealthy father, and within 8 months, there was his daughter Lilly, followed a year later by his son Duncan, but his affair with Lianne was never truly over… he'd never regretted a single moment of his daughter. Not her first steps, her sweet blonde curls, the butterfly kisses or even her wilder antics, it's like she'd known on some level that she had to burn as bright as possible because she wouldn't get long to shine... but she'd been the brightest star in his sky.

He'd tried to make Lianne understand, but she'd been furious, shortly after the announcement that Celeste was expecting a second child, she'd gone out partying with friends and met a local deputy, Keith Mars. They weren't serious at first, but within months, Lianne was pregnant with Veronica, and it was an impossible situation. She accepted his marriage proposal, and Jake had watched as the woman he loved tried to move on without him. Both of them making the best of it… but when she'd started working in his management department, their old heat began to flare up again. It was no secret. Celeste knew… A wife always knows, he had become consumed with Lianne again, losing sight of everything, his company, his marriage… his duties as a father.

If Lilly hadn't been… he'd have divorced Celeste and married Lianne, but she'd disappeared after his daughters murder, guilt had consumed them both, until they were unable to look at one another.

 _He'd told Duncan that Veronica was his sister… and she would have been if fate hadn't been so cruel._

Dimitri tapped a finger against his chin, watching the little exchange with interest.

"Quite the predicament we find ourselves in…" he mused, a laugh rumbling in the back of his throat as he looked at the drench girl in front of him wearing dark jeans two sizes two big and the oversized sweater, obviously the first things she'd been able to find that were warm and dry. She must weight no more than 95lbs soaking wet, and she still sat there with more fight in her crystal blue eyes than most grown men he'd ever met whom found themselves facing down Sergei and Alexi.

His dark blue shirt covered his gargantuan arms and broad chest and Veronica felt her skin prickle with awareness, that while it seemed like Jake Kane was at a loss of what to do with her now, this man had no qualms about hurting her if he had to.

 _Hell, he looked like he'd enjoy watching her wriggle like a worm on a hook._

"This the part where you say something snappy about having ways to make me talk?" Veronica gulped, watching as he sat forward, reaching for the glass decanter to refill his glass.

What were they planning on doing to her? A thousand horrific scenarios filled her mind, her body ending up washed up on a beach was the least of her worries… at the hands of the Russian Mafia, and life could be very unpleasant indeed.

 _She could end up trafficked…_ Dimitri's lips kicked up in a cruel sneer, and those intelligent eyes communicated wordlessly that he knew what she was thinking.

There was no way off this island except on one of those yachts, and she still had no idea exactly where she was. She'd tossed Weevils phone into the bedside drawer before she'd been discovered, she could only hope that it gave her father some clue of where to begin looking.

 _And her father would never stop looking for her… she should have told him about Logan… shouldn't have tried to go it alone… Wallace had been right._

I'm sorry daddy.


	45. Chapter 45

(3 Doors Down – Here without you)

Duncan Kane tried Veronica's cell phone again but there was no answer, he'd been on his way back home to the Neptune Grand from the hospital visiting his pregnant ex-girlfriend Meg Manning when the reports of Aaron Echolls suicide had begun to fill the radio waves. Sheriff Lamb had sent Deputy's to his Penthouse earlier to look for Logan, but he'd thought nothing much of it. Dick 'wine them, dine them, then slide inside them' Casablancas had been his usual comedy incarnate and joking about springing him loose for some wild times with a cheerleader from Pam High, now his father was dead and he'd suddenly vanished without a trace. Logan would have had no reason to take off… he had it all: looks, money, power, and more women than he knew what to do with. That's why he hadn't been worried, how stupid a mistake that had been. Sighing Duncan scrubbed a hand down his face while he sat at Logan's bed side. How could he have forgotten that despite his foul language, name calling and threats to never speak to him again earlier… that he was the closest thing that his friend had left to family? He'd moved Logan into his home for fear he would get himself killed from the grief and reckless behaviour, seems he should have been paying closer attention to his wayward room-mate.

What had Veronica known that she'd wanted to talk to him about earlier? Had she known Logan was in this kind of trouble? He didn't understand Veronica's attraction to the Neptune High bad boy. They loved to hate each other, and this summer had gotten involved in a only fling that left such an impact on them both so strong that none of their lives would ever be the same. Logan was chaotic, always running late, usually a love them and leave them kind of guy and looking for more from life than just some job and a half-decent regular hook-up… surely a grown ass man with his shit together was more attractive?

This girls mentality confused him. He was neat, always on time, and a professed workaholic… yet all of his money couldn't have bought a better future than one that had her beautiful face in it, those sensual lips and a body made to worship, Veronica was exquisite. A work of art… and he'd made the biggest mistake of his life two years ago by not opening up to the girl he had loved when his father introduced her to him as his sister… It had cost him everything. Sometimes, he thought she hated him, but he still loved her anyway. She wasn't his despite all his wanting to go to her, to make up with her. She was his first love, the first girl he'd shared himself with… he couldn't stop thinking about how his hands felt on her body and do all the dirty things going through his head. It was wrong to want her. Meg was having his baby, and there had been no news from the doctors of if and when she would ever recover. He'd played the game and gotten played in the worst possible way, the thought that Veronica and Logan could make it work if they both back down long enough to try burned jealousy deep in his gut.

Duncan tried calling his father but couldn't get through, according to his mother; he was off someplace smooching up to some Russian oligarch from college with connections to the Kremlin. Leaving Duncan alone in this guarded hospital room with Logan, trying to avoid thinking too hard about the latest media updates scrolling along his Facebook timeline, and not sure what was real and what wasn't as he waited for his friend to wake up so he could find out the truth.

It felt like reality was falling around him after that video clip of Aaron Echolls hit the internet… the one saying that Logan was the real killer, and that he'd been the one to cause the bus crash… the way he'd lingered at the bus that morning of the fieldtrip kept replaying in his head.

"I'll miss you…" he'd told Veronica. _What had he meant? Was that a confession? Foreshadowing?_

He didn't want to believe it could have been him, but there was so much about Logan that he wasn't sure about anymore.

 _Those bum fights last year… him bullying then dating Veronica…_

"Wake up you Bastard… wake up and look me in the eye so I know if I should be smothering you with a pillow right now…" Duncan ordered the unconscious boy laying there handcuffed to the hospital bed. Acting as Logan's official Emergency contact Duncan had to chase Sheriff Lamb out threatening to sic his father's lawyers on him if he didn't stop trying to have the nurse to medicate his friend to force Logan awake. He'd mumbled something about wanting to remove him to the prison hospitals custody for violating his bail conditions, at which point the Latina girl who had brought Logan to the hospital began to kick up a big enough tantrum about how he'd obviously been abducted, he certainly hadn't beaten himself almost to death.

 _Was Veronica involved in this? Had she helped Weevil to track Logan down?_

Nothing made any sense, he couldn't get hold of Dick and when he'd called Madison to find out where her boyfriend was to ask if he'd heard anything, she'd freaked out because she hadn't been able to get a hold of him either. Duncan refused to give into speculation, he'd learned too cruelly over the last few years that the truth in Neptune truth swung wildly like a pendulum, what you were seeing were quite often refracted pieces of light in a hallway of broken mirrors. Being with Veronica had taught him to not accept anything until he'd gotten proof, and he needed to hear it from Logan, to see his reaction when he accused him of all those vitriolic rumours. Of killing Lilly, of putting Meg in the hospital.. to see the reaction when he told his best friend that the comatose girl was pregnant. When he asked him to his face if he'd planted that bomb on the school bus.

He leaned his elbows on his knees and leaned forwards, his head in his hands. _Don't jump to conclusion... just pray he gets out of the next few hours... he just wanted to be here for his friend..._

He'd overheard one of the doctors on duty mention potential bleeding in the brain and the fractured ribs and internal organs could have been damaged from what looked like a surface impact but since no one knew the story of what he'd been through over the last few hours, there was no way they could know for sure. The damaged skin and bruises made him want to cry.

 _Had he tried to take out his friends because they were witnesses? Come on Man… you can't leave me with these questions…_ Duncan urged silently. _I'll never forgive you if you die on me now…_


	46. Chapter 46

_To Whom It May Concern… I really want to get off crazy freaking island right now…_ Veronica thought silently as she watched the tall Russian man wander around the expensive kitchen. Dimitri had apparently taken it upon himself to make her Blini… some kind of pancake from his homeland after her stomach had continued to grumble as Jake had tried to initiate some kind of twisted 'You have your mothers eyes' speech. She could only hope that little obsession of his ended up as badly for Mr Kane as it did for Professor Snape… where was a giant snake when you needed one?

"I highly suggest you read the fine print of your contract..." Jake growled, he was chatting with someone on the phone as he wandered around the luxurious lounge area that was bigger than her entire apartment she shared with her dad.

 _Private kitchen of the villa, on the private freaking island… stupid Billionaires…_

"Have you ever tried Knish?" Dimitri asked conversationally as he flipped the thin crepe-like pastry and reached for a bowl of cherries. All too aware of the men still flanking her as she sat on the bar stool at the counter in front of him, she responded by staying silent, just shaking her head. "Mashed potatoes, ground beef, onions and cheese filled inside thick dough pastry and deep fried… it is a cross between a calzone and a samosa but the best kind have olives. A staple throughout Eastern Europe, it is insane that you American's have your McDonalds infiltrating the world like the KGB but yet… you do not know Knish" he said in his thick accent, shrugging before slicing up some strawberries.

He moved like a man familiar with moving about a kitchen, the Martha Stewart routine was bizarre, and completely at odds with his battered hands as he delicately arranged the food on the plate. Somehow the meticulous casual way he cared about the presentation was terrifying, as if the knowledge that they all knew she was aware he'd plotted to kill a teenage boy only hours ago, and that he was currently standing by holding her hostage at gunpoint while Jake Kane spoke to whomever was on the other side of that phone about hunting down the rest of her friends was an everyday occurrence for him.

"Pirozhki…" Veronica offered quietly as his huge hand slid the plate forwards.

"What?" he asked, stopping just in front of her as he placed a fork down beside her, yet she noticed, he hadn't trusted her enough to also give her a knife.

"Lilly's 15th Birthday party… you brought Pirozhki" she repeated, her blue eyes locked onto his, determined not to waver in the slightest. He paused for a moment, scrutinizing her face a little harder, as if trying to place her. She recognised this man now, although he hadn't been at her funeral, he was Lilly's Godfather.

Dimitri Kumaran. Business Partner and long-time family friend.

It was thought that Duncan had gotten his nickname DK in part from this man. He'd been a wrestler in college, which probably explained the smushed quality of his face… _and all those blows to his head probably explained his crazy… What was Jake's excuse?_

"Yes… you were Lilith's little friend" he nodded as he turned and handed over the syrup. His dark gaze challenging her to refuse the meal, to make a move, to defy him… to give him any excuse to haul her off and teach her how to behave like a good little captive. Glancing over his shoulder towards Jake who had reached for another glass of scotch, she flickered her gaze back to the mountain of a man staring her down and picked up the fork. Selecting a strawberry and brought it to her lips, eating it without showing the slightest hint of the fear still flooding through her petite body.

 _Don't flinch Veronica… Stand your ground… survival mode activated… if you have to run and get lost at sea, who knows how long they will make you wait until your next meal?_

 _No stupid moves…_

 _(Just a short little update tonight... I will be developing this little battle of wits between Veronica & Jake Kane n His Cronies further in due course)_


	47. Chapter 47

Trella, ft Simon - Down

"You know if you are feeling down… I could always feel you up" Dick offered casually as he wandered back into the kitchen where Mac was still sitting frowning at the lines of text on the computer screen. Walking to the fridge he picked out the milk and began to rummage through the contents for anything that might be worth eating as he admired the curve of her ass perched on the wooden stool.

Eyes as grey as granite, sparked silver as she slanted an angry glance in his direction, looking at him suspiciously as if at any moment he would unceremoniously yank her to her feet and kiss her.

 _Not that he wasn't tempted…_

"How can you possibly still be eating at a time like this?" she grumbled as her delicate fingers whizzed gracefully across the keys, so far she and the Kane encryptions were deadlocked in a stalemate. Everything indicated that the main server information was being held off-grid in an external hard drive. Probably under lock and key in a high security vault someplace close to Jake Kane.

 _She was back to square one…_

 _On the run…. Fugitives from the Federal Cyber Squad, Kane Industries security services, the Russian Mafia and a Billionaire with a global empire behind him… and somehow not ONE bit of that had affected Dick Casablancas' appetite. Where was a Bolthole when you needed one?_

"Anyone ever tell you when you are zoning out like that, you turn into Ms Snarlypants?" Dick glowered before he drank from the open carton. He was feeling a little more relaxed since she had hacked into the hospital records and gotten updates on Logan's condition. He was stable, for now. Unconscious but they'd ruled out any cranial bleeding and he was responding well to the meds they'd given him.

"Really? All that money and no one taught you how to use a glass?" Mac said in disgust as she sat back in her chair and glared at him.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"I can't believe Weevil left me here alone with you…" she cursed under her breath. Weevil had left with Daisy about twenty minutes ago after they'd located a camera in the house and decided to arrange some fake ID's for Mac and Dick now that they would be on Kane Security's radar. Since Weevil and the PCHers frequently travelled with no ID, and now that Logan was in custody, he was in the clear, Lamb wouldn't be looking for him or Veronica anymore but thanks to her Hack on the Blue Moon systems… Mac and Dick weren't so lucky.

 _They were going to have to figure out a way to lay low until she could find something useful._

"Alright Neo… no need to get all Bitchy, shouldn't you be getting back into the Matrix or whatever?" he retorted, taking another swig.

"No… what I needed was a strong cup of coffee… but now the milk has your slobbers all in it" she sighed as he absorbed her words and cast a glance back at the fridge. A slow sly smile tugged at his lips.

"Well… you know if you want creamed all you have to do is ask sweetcheeks…" he said as he met her glare head on, feeling a little like an ass that he'd used up their entire nights supply. He doubted Toni would be looking for any, because the older man was currently sprawled unconscious sleeping on the armchair in the living room.

"That's it! I am not staying here with you…." Mac snapped, standing up, picking up the laptop and yanking the power cable out.

"Hey! Relax! It's called humour… Earthlings do it" Dick said as he grabbed onto her slender shoulders and turned her to face him.

"Everything's just a big joke to you, you have **_NO IDEA_** how much danger we are in…" Mac sobbed, the laptop in her hands.

 _What the Hell had she done to deserve being abandoned in a safe house with someone like him?_

"A joke? You don't think I'm not aware that my best friend is in the hospital right now and I can't go see if he's alright… or contact my brother after you're little Cyberattack on Kane Industries because it will let those goons' know where we are? We don't know what's happened to Ronnie, and that's on ME. You think I didn't notice we were shot at… crashed into the Marina and that I'm probably going to have get reconstructive surgery and live on a beach someplace selling coconuts and giving surf lessons or end up shanked in some mid-level security prison?" he growled, anger lacing his words. "Freaking out… accomplishes nothing… and I'm not going to… because you got his, and I trust you to get us out of this tailspin" he clipped the words out and she cut her eyes upwards. The muscles in his jaw bunched over and over, up-close and locked in each other's stare. "Besides… it ain't like you haven't had my _slobbers_ in your mouth before…" and she swallowed lightly in edgy anticipation at the satisfied look on his face as he said it.

"You aren't going to let me live that down are you?" she blushed, putting distance between them and stepping away from him and setting the laptop back on the counter.

 _The man was seriously imposing…_

"No plans to" he shrugged as she reached for the coffee maker. Dick had admired her so often on the sly when she came over to his house to help Cassidy with that nerd website he was creating. He was never bereft of female attention, Madison knew about most of his side chicks, she didn't care as long as he was discreet. Somehow he got the impression that the cyber sleuth here wasn't as easily impressed as the featherbrains he was used to dating.

The aroma of coffee acted like a siren as she kept her eyes downcast, focusing on the red mug in her hands as she jettisoned the idea of him kissing her again. It was an almost terrifying compulsion to pull her body flush against his and kiss her again, but he crossed his arms instead, frowning at the bewitching girl. She was dating Beeves… but all he could think about was how responsive she'd been when he was popping her tiny buttons off that shirt like confetti.

Her guarded, less than warm response didn't faze him. An unconscious sigh left her lips, breaking her out of her reverie as she took as sip of the dark bitter liquid.

"Want to rip each other's clothes off?" he asked casually and chuckled as she spluttered and licked her lips in embarrassment. Her shocked gaze meeting his, nervously her cheeks heated, dazed and disoriented at the same time. "I mean… it's not like the idea is going to keep you awake tonight…" he winked, taking the remaining milk and propping it down beside her, savouring the alluring scent of her peach and honey shampoo that made his pulse pound with heat. His eyes were devil-black as his gaze raked over her face. "I should probably get some sleep… in one of those big empty beds upstairs…" he declared, gravel-voiced.

 _Kissing her earlier tonight had pretty much bought his ticket to Hell… might as well enjoy the ride, it would be so easy to dip his head and take that lush pouty mouth with his, to cup the full curve of her breast… to lift her up onto the countertop and give into the lust sizzling between them._

His jaw clenched so tight she thought it would snap, the hungry look in his eyes making her insides execute a cartwheel. "When this is all over…" he warned his arms wrapping possessively around her waist. "No more flirting with my brother…" he said before releasing her and storming off out of the kitchen.

 _Great... I'm a fugitive... and I'm stuck with an insanely hot crazy person... and i need a Cold Shower... a VERY cold shower..._


	48. Chapter 48

ZΛYDE WØLF feat. Ruelle - Walk Through The Fire

Elec Perez stood in the waiting area on the ground floor of the Neptune Sacred Heart Hospital staring at the television screen, the soundless images of Sheriff Lamb were promising to Make Neptune Great Again no doubt. He rubbed his chin, doing his best to secure his mental straight-jacket. He'd hoped Weevil would be here after he'd heard the reports of Logan Echolls arrest but so far there was no sign of him.

 _This couldn't be right… Logan Echolls the man who had murdered Felix Toomes, had been responsible for sabotaging the bus which had crashed, killing his brother and 7 other students? He didn't buy it._ Curly Moran had been beaten the night of Echolls Life Is Short Party, and the resident host hadn't left his house all evening. Elec knew that little detail because he remembered Weevil getting a call and taking off with several of the guys while he'd stuck around to hook up with Maize McCoy and there'd been reports about a dead guy on the beach the next day. Weevil would never go so far as to allow his boys to actually kill someone, at least, not until he graduated. Eli Navarro was a lot of things, but a killer he was not. He had no idea where in the Hell Weevil was at, but he was definitely interested in comparing notes. Trouble was brewing, he could feel it like salt in the air, these new Blood influences of the Cartels moving through Neptune, whispers that someone was creating alliances with the Fitzpatrick's, they'd already lost too much, they couldn't afford to lose each other. Tragedies didn't feel like they were shaping you, but when it knocked you down, the perseverance needed to get back up, shaped you into something stronger. Life doesn't always come with privileges, but all life came with struggle.

 _'_ Fake News' Elec grumbled as he tried Weevils cell again.

 _Still no word from Veronica…_ he wasn't dumb enough to think that a missing teenage girl who had been looking for the now hospitalized Logan Echolls and these reports on the news weren't connected. Former Sheriff Mars replied quickly to the message with _Keep Trying_.

"Anything good?" Letti flirted as she watched the younger man put his phone back into his pocket.

"Yeah, secrets, lies… all the drama of a dark emotional page turner" he quipped, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the journalist who rolled her eyes.

"Finding something that isn't would be a really rare occurrence for me" Letti drooled, unprofessional sure, but around Elec, the line between professional and cougar was blurry. He had been good at supplying information that Logan Echolls was in critical condition by chatting up the nurses. Most of her PCHer sources tended to live their life on a metaphorical cliff, so where he may be barely legal… that boy was branded in the kind of trouble she'd love to get herself in. She still wasn't sure why she'd let him talk her into this meeting, everyone else was trying to pry information from the Federal State Coroner for juicy details like how Aaron Echolls had suffocated on his own blood and vomit after his airways had collapsed. She was taking a hell of a chance with this little detour. Roland Carson was not the kind of man to be easily swayed without concrete evidence, even by an ambitious bombshell like her.

"You get a hold of your little friend yet?" she asked impatiently. "You know my editor won't run against the majority tide unless I can confirm my source, and so far, all I have is your word that Jake Kane and some Mafia Henchmen put Logan Echolls in the hospital… yet… no one can seem to confirm anything beyond that boat you mentioned, which was found abandoned down by the Marina."

"Those photographs…" Elec countered. He knew that Matteo had met with her to pass on the statement from Vinne Van Lowe about the surveillance photographs the Kane's had him on.

"It's not a crime for a father to be worried about the kid moving into his sons apartment, which in case you hadn't noticed from current reports…" she said gesturing towards the television with a video clip of Aaron Echolls confession again. "Isn't something that would be raising many eyebrow… no one would think twice."

"Lois Lane wouldn't let that stop her" Elec shrugged, quoting her promise to get to the truth of the bus crash when she'd been trying to get the families to sign up for an exclusive, he'd hoped that getting that file would have sparked her bosses interest.

"She's also a fictional character, one who doesn't have to compete with social media and every kid with a Vlog" Letti retorted. "I should go…" she sighed.

"Fine go…. let your patriarchal asshole of a boss cost you this scoop, not like you couldn't just use Twitter and Social Media and a vlog?" Elec asked, and her eyes narrowed at the obvious cold calculation.

"From what I have been able to **scoop** so far from reputable sources… is that there was a cyber-attack on Kane Industries tonight… and that maybe **_that_** should be my story and you are just wasting my time" she ground out, sliding her bag up her shoulder and turning away.

"What more do you want? You got the pictures of The Blue Moon down by the docks, the statement from Van Lowe, the payment records from Kane Industries… the boat was found… it's only a matter of time before Echolls wakes up and the world get his side of the story. But **_YOU_** Letti… could be the only thing that puts the search for a missing girl on the world stage" Elec challenged, thankful that it had at least given her pause.

"Missing girl? I thought this was about Logan Echolls?" Letti said, raking a hand through her dark chestnut hair, green eyes fixed on him.

"Daughter of Keith Mars, you read the book… best friend of Lilly Kane, teenage heroine who took down a murderous movie star… girl caught up in a twisted love triangle between Logan Echolls and Duncan Kane?" Elec offered and he saw the headline hunger as she slowly licked her lips. She was tempted.

"She's missing?" Letti asked raising an eyebrow.

"Not so much missing… as stranded on an island after stowing away on the Blue Moon" he offered.

"You know this how?" Letti questioned a hand on her slender hip.

"She called me" Elec told her as he watched the older woman chew her bottom lip, the inner journalist gears turning, as if on que his phone vibrated. Pulling it out of his black jeans he flicked open the call. "Havier… Te dije que bebieras ese café y que durmieras un poco" he growled, kid was under orders not to leave his house until his ass had sobered up.

"Yeah… but I thought you'd wanna know that Jose just saw Weevil, he's got Arlo's burner if you wanna talk to him" Havier interrupted quickly.

"Text that number to me!" Elec ordered before hanging up.

"Booty call?" Letti quipped sarcastically.

"Source" Elec corrected before opening the incoming text message.


	49. Chapter 49

"When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor… do you know who said that?" Jake Kane asked, tapping his fingers on the wooden surface as he sat across the table from Veronica. He reminded him of a patronising school master, asking questions he didn't expect anyone but himself to be smart enough to answer. She knew the quote well but she just rewarded his lunatic ted talk with the same silence she'd favored since giving Dimitri back the plate. That proverbial sand hourglass was still ticking away but to what conclusion she wasn't exactly sure. Nothing good.

 _This entire day feels like one very poorly choreographed season of 24…_

"Elon Musk" he added, probably taking her quiet as rapt attention, but honestly, the only thing Veronica was focused on was trying to figure out a way out of this mess. His dark blue eyes were emotionless as he trailed his fingers through his tousled ash brown hair. "It astounds me that you went so far to come for him…. Even after everything he's done, you must think he's pretty important" Jake said, shaking his head as he pushed the files in front of her again.

 _He **is** important you deranged nutcase!_ Veronica thought silent, chancing a peek at Dimitri watching the muted 65 inch flat screen behind them, the picture kept blotching out but he was nodding along to the Russian subtitles which seemed unaffected by the disruption, admiring the news latest reports flowing through the screen.

 _It was all lies… lies started by Jake to turn any safe harbour Logan and her friends might have found into a hunting ground. There was nothing more powerful than a brotherhood between crazy guys._

She balled her hands into fists and resisted the urge to say something clever and sassy, but given one pissed off Yuri with his arm in a sling had his hawk eyes trained on her, she didn't think it was a wise move, so instead she ignored the folders on the table and crossed her arms. Glancing down at Jakes phone that was sitting face down on the table, he'd muted a call from Duncan and set it to the side.

 _Wouldn't want something like a phone call from your only surviving offspring to interrupt your kidnapping plans…_

"I know that you are angry, Jake…" she said cautiously, her guarded gaze locked with his.

"I understand that you aren't ready to face the truth" he interrupted. "You are so young Veronica, you don't even understand how innocent you really are."

"I _know_ the truth… you just won't let yourself see it! Aaron chose to save himself over Logan, he chose to try and kill **_me_** to protect his secret and he chose to **murder** Lilly rather than face the consequences of having an affair with an underage girl. You want someone else to blame because you failed her, but I would rather see things as they are!" she retorted.

"Veronica…" he ground out, a warning edge to his voice as he pointed at the files again.

"NO! You did, you were too busy screwing **_MY_** mother instead of being a father to either of your children. You didn't just fail Lilly that day… you thought **_DUNCAN_** killed her and _you covered it up_!" Veronica exclaimed standing up and stepping away from the table.

"Sit down" Dimitri commanded.

"I was protecting my son!" Jake snapped back at her.

"So Lilly was just collateral?" Veronica shrugged sarcastically, her blue eyes beginning to well with unshed tears. "Oh but wait… you thought you were **my** dad too, and despite losing one daughter… you **never** reached out. Your lies drove a wedge between me and Duncan when we needed each other."

"You really should choose your words more carefully Veronica…" Jake said, narrowing his eyes.

"Or what? You'll have Ivan the Terrible here smack me around?" she snorted, cutting a glance at Dimitri before returning them to her little stare down with Jake, her spine stiffening. "Frankly, after what you and my mother did that day, I'm surprised you can even stand to **look** at me. No one would blame you, Hell, my mother couldn't… But go ahead ** _try_** to defend how it all played out."

Provoking him at this point wasn't wise, but she was pretty much backed into a corner, she couldn't exactly fight her way out of this. She had two weapons, her wits and her smart-mouth.

 _Tongue, locked and loaded…_

Jake stood up, nostrils flared, his face mottled with anger, one hand on his hip and rubbing the other across his jaw. Turning away from her and pacing towards the liquor cabinet again.

 _Obviously she'd hit her target, that or he didn't have the stomach for all this his college buddy did._

"You shouldn't prod him like a bear… grief, can make monsters of even the goodest of men" Dimitri counselled her, sneering in that way that made her certain that teenage girls, and women in general deserved less consideration than the cutlery he'd arranged so meticulously in the kitchen.

"Are you a good guy?" she asked nervously.

"No" he shrugged before they were interrupted by Sergei whispering something in Russian. "Prikrepite yakhty k drugoy storone ostrova, boleye glubokiye vody obespechat luchsheye ukrytiye."

 _Whatever the news, he didn't look happy._ That mental digital clock ticking louder as apprehension wound in her gut.

"Khorosho li budet okhranyat' mesto zhitel'stva?" Sergei asked but the other man shook his head.

"Net, Boris will do it. Take Alexi, make sure there are no others" Dimitri replied as Jake returned from gazing at the television.

"Trouble in paradise?" Veronica quipped but he ignored her, instead focusing on his companion.

"What is it?" Jake asked.

"Another storm moving towards us from the North, it should break over our heads in the next hour, I have told them to relocate the Yachts to the south side of the island, the cove with the deeper waters there will provide greater protection. We have everything we need here, there is little else we can do until the morning" Dimitri told him.

 _Great… even when her dad got hold of the GPS and if the battery life on Weevil's cell-phone lasted long enough until he could find her, and she wasn't quite sure she had the skills to MacGyver a locater beacon out of a bar of soap. Her captors might be stranded too, but the bad weather would hinder any efforts to send help. Was it too much to pray for being rescued by a secret government agency dedicated to taking out the nations enemies?_

Too bad the television didn't have the Weather and Location up on the screen like most normal smart screens. If she could somehow get access to that phone… gain their trust long enough to slip their grasp, she might be able to figure out exactly where she was, and how far exactly she would have to swim to get help. She rattled her brain trying to think of the weather announcements she had seen this morning, a storm warning near the border had caught her attention because it had reminded her of that kiss on the boardwalk in the rain with Logan.

 _Logan... that won't be our last kiss... it can't be..._


	50. Chapter 50

(Tedy – Can I?)

It was barely half an hour had passed before the rain and thunder battered around the private islands isolated penthouse. The panoramic views showing the lightening and swaying trees in all their glory against the pre-dawn black clouds. She wasn't sure what time it was, but she was exhausted, Veronica slumped into the couch with a checked comforter next to Jake, listening to the sounds of the rain and Dimitri's loud chuckle as he played chess with Yuri. Smugly moving his dark gaze over the room, like he could read every mind in it.

 _What did he get out of all this? Jake she could understand… but what did Dimitri have to gain?_

Warmth still hadn't made its way into her bones after the swim to shore, it almost made her miss the lukewarm water in her shower back home. She studied the calculate way that Dimitri swept his moves across the board, calculated, he might look like a meathead, but he was as aggressive a player as any grand master she'd seen husting tourists down by the boardwalk.

 _Chess… because what other game could a billionaire meathead in a business suit play when he was trying to intimidate you… not that he needs to have much strategy when he's got Sheriff Lamb confining his target to a hospital bed awaiting his next move…_

Jake was drinking again, she got the feeling that he did that a lot, and she felt nauseous as more piece of the family dysfunction unravelled itself. No wonder the affair never seemed to interfere with her mother's alcohol addiction, they probably got drunk together from the mini bars in those hotel rooms he took her to. Those nights when her dad had thought her mother was just _working late, the PTA meetings while her father had tried to be everything for her mother_... Veronica felt her nails digging into her hands, clenched fists she hadn't realised she was holding onto the comforter too tightly. Expelling a quiet angry breath.

 _They'd done this… those lies… Celeste's obsession with finding out the truth that led to the neglect that had been what had driven Lilly to such reckless behaviour… that sent straight on a collision course with Aaron Echolls._

All those nights her Mom used to sit and enjoy a glass of wine while watching a movie with her… Veronica had never really noticed that it was usually the third by the time they'd all sat down for dinner together.

How many empty bottles did her dad find in the recycling? How many arguments had they the next morning while she was hungover after Veronica had left for school?

 _The lies made her feel sick, this was Lilly's father, a man she'd admired once… now he was having a victory toast that Logan was in the hospital?_

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to join me, Veronica?" Jake slurped, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and wiggling a glass of scotch at her. Frowning she shook her head and his lips tilted up at the corner. "Lianne didn't drink much at your age… she used to get that exact same look on her face" he mused, lost in a memory.

"And now she's an atheist with a drinking problem…" Veronica mumbled, trying to look for repeated words in the Russian subtitles that she might be able to translate, or make some sense of. Her heart clenching like a fist when she saw the familiar pictures of Logan with the rest of the Echolls family at a premiere just a few months before Lilly's death.

"Seems to me that you are the one in need of a 12 step programme" Jake observed, tossing a picture of Veronica and Logan from a few days ago at the school café when she he had ambushed her and asked her to make him coffee.

"Where did you get this?" Veronica demanded, watching him with guarded eyes.

"Your dad isn't the only Magnum P.I. in Neptune. I was concerned about my son, so I had him followed, never expected that you would take so much after your mother… abandoning the love of the more sensible choice to follow your baser instincts" Jake said, curling his mouth up in distaste. "I never understood how your mother could lie in my sheets and then lie to your fathers face…"

"Probably the same way you lied to Celeste" Veronica countered, he'd been spying on Logan, which meant he probably knew about her secret relationship with Duncan, she stared down at her bare feet.

 _Did he know about Meg? Did he even care?_

"I really do wish you would look through the evidence we found Veronica" he said nodding at the folders on the couch beside them. "It would make all of this a lot clearer for you."

"I'm not interested!" she refused pushing them away. "I will not be the one to condone this for you!"

 _Maybe you should try some therapy you psychotic jackass!_

"Stubborn as always" Jake ground out before he got up and went to sit in the chair next to his computer. She got the feeling from the cold glare he shot her before he picked up his laptop and began checking through emails that perhaps reminding him of the traits that were her fathers daughter, wouldn't be the best thing for her survival strategy tonight. She wasn't slippery like her mother when she'd been exposed, she couldn't shapeshift into a master manipulator when she was cornered like this.

 _Then again… she was her father's daughter, and she was in the trenches…_ leaving those files unattended beside her was a dumb move. She wanted that information, wanted to follow it down the rabbit hole and pull it apart and put it back together like a Rubik cube.

Boris fixed her with a stern expression that warned her not to even think of reaching for the cellphone on the coffee table as he walked over and pocketed the shiny black temptation out of her reach.

 _At least I know which one of you to pickpocket…_ Veronica thought sourly as she stared haughtily at the man's retreat back towards the kitchen.

The fact she wasn't sitting bound or confined in a small room somewhere surprised her, but Veronica took it more as a statement of how little a threat Dimitri and his comrade cronies thought she was. Armed men stood by the doors and the boss man looked like he could shred her like a paper doll if she tried anything and they knew it.

 _So much for the teenage girl detective triple threat…_

What exactly **did** they have on Logan? It probably couldn't hurt to find out what she was up against in case she miraculously made it out of this and had to help undo some of the media frenzy that had people on the silent screen riled up like an angry mob.

 _All they were missing was the fiery torches and pitchforks._

Jake had been having Logan investigated? Curiosity tugged at her, all those nights she'd spent changing coffee filters and wrestling her bed sheets trying to fight the urge to go and stake out his every move as she swallowed down her resolve to keep Normal as the Watchword for her dad, the times she'd sat looking at his empty chair in class wondering where he was… the answers would be right here.

Breaking in her resolve she pushed the first few pages over, skimming over a few photographs. It looked like Vinnie's work. She could tell from the picture focus on the rear of the woman next to Logan outside a bakery in town, still keeping the target in frame, but getting some ogle material in the process. Or he did it on purpose to keep suspicion of whomever he was tailing if he was caught and they flicked through his shots.

Vinnie could surprise you with being smart like that, his rendition of Darly Hall & John Oats – Private Eyes began to sing in her head from the day she'd snuck a bug into a vase of flowers and chocolates to his office. Silently she prayed that he'd been diligent in his attempts to stalk Logan today, getting pictures of Logan being abducted if Vinnie would have taken those snaps and got those to Lamb or Logan's lawyer, Cliff McCormack in hopes of cashing in on some kind of reward could help change the narrative currently circulating on the news. She could hope, that's all she really had right now.

Sighing she moved the snaps aside and saw a small handwritten letter, it looked like it had been folded and refolded a few hundred times, frowning she reached for it, the penmanship she would know anywhere… she'd received a few dozen letters like this stuffed into her locker and her hand froze.

 _Logan's letter to Lilly…_ Veronica swallowed hard, her search for this note had led her to discover those sex tapes in Lillys bedroom the night Aaron Echolls had tried to kill her. Jake had had this the entire time?

 _"You know if you read that note to her, you'd know I'd never hurt her..."_

 _***Author note... if there is enough interest, I might attempt to do a version of what the note says, leave a comment if you want it***_


	51. Chapter 51

(John Legend ft Ludacris – Tonight)

"You should sleep with me" Dick declared as he strolled back into the kitchen, his hands on his hips. Mac buried her face in her hands, trying desperately to unhear it. She closed her eyes, quietly counting to ten before she shifted on the breakfast stool and turned to face him.

 _Good Lord, he was wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers… now **that** was a body that belonged on a poster covered in lipstick kisses._

Figures Dick Casablancas would have the body of an underwear model. Pursing her lips as she felt her face burning with heat as she noted his muscular chest with a splatter of hair, unwelcome awareness as her gaze dropped to his mouth, lingering before she met his blue eyes again. Her pulse began racing, on edge caused by his nearness.

 **What was this guy's problem?!** She was currently playing the gnat in Kane Industries Security's ear, trying to stay one step ahead of whomever they had tracing her digital fingerprint and he kept trying to seduce her?

"If you think I am going to get into bed with you…" she warned, crossing her arms defiantly as he strode up to her, shutting the laptop closed.

"Get upstairs" he ordered another steel-tipped command.

"No! Look I don't know what you think you are doing but…" she said, stepping back, he was so damned close. His eyes skimming every inch of her not caring that it bordered on voyeuristic and gave her the smallest of smiles.

 _That peaches and cream complexion of hers had grown to the most enchanting shade of pink._

"I can guess what you are thinking… but you are way off, Little Bunny" he soothed, winding a silky strand of her dark hair around his finger. "Not that I wouldn't bang you like a screen door in a hurricane…" he rasped and she swallowed audibly, rubbing her sweating palms on the front of her jeans.

"I'd rather plummet head first off a cliff!" she retorted but it came out barely a whisper and her gaze moved towards the window.

 _What was taking Daisy and Weevil so long? This man just might be the devil…_

"I came down here to get you in that big Californian king bed upstairs unless your attempting to me to make you admit how much you want me?" his voice was deep and seductive and now was not the time to be remembering the feel of his lips or how his tongue had danced with hers.

"Maybe you need me to provide flash cards? This is **NOT** the time for this!" she said waving his hand away from toying with her hair, turning and opening the laptop again.

Why couldn't he just go back to ignoring her existence like before? Before their little dalliance on the boat, he'd barely even registered her presence except to torment her when she was with his brother.

"Don't create a storm, and then bitch when it rains" he said dryly and she sent him a narrow-eyed look when he moved her chair out of the way and stood in front of it.

Her arms akimbo she bit her lower lip, clinging to her patience like an abseiler whose line had been cut. Not even an hour ago he'd stormed off out of here like he'd a train to catch and now he was back and acting like a possessive caveman.

 _Had he showered?_

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you?" she demanded, eyes so grey appeared metallic, tucking that strand of dark mahogany hair behind her ear.

"Have you looked in the mirror?" he asked softly, stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers. _His future little Park Avenue Princess in all her feisty geek chic._

Unnerved by his tenderness she chose to scowl at him, it was about all the evidence of displeasure she could muster right now.

"Jerk! Just because I don't have those dewy little debutante looks doesn't mean I am going to stand here and…" she snapped, her slim body shaking with fury as he cupped her face, sending a shiver down her spine as he used his big body to pin her against the counter top.

"Quiet, I'm not being an ass" he insisted, her wide eyes look up at him as she realised her physical disadvantage. Hadn't she spent most of the last hour swearing she was going to avoid this exact predicament?

 _Damn you Weevil…_

He tilted her face up him, his lips were a flat line and all six foot five of him was blocking every exit, a serious expression on his face as his gaze enthralled her in those bottomless blue depths she could drown in. What would it be like to squirm beneath him on the rumpled sheets of a big wide bed?

"You need to sleep" he repeated, tracing his thumb along the shadows under her eyes, her pupils were so dilated they looked like polished obsidian _. She wanted him…_ Dick thought trying to get control of his raging libido, he was pretty sure if she was still a virgin.

"Why would I do that? I'm barely a quarter of the way through…"she protested, turning her head towards the computer, but he tilted her chin back towards him.

"You are exhausted… even get an hour…" he ordered in a tone that said she was being unreasonable and she wanted to weep. Nothing sounded better right now than sinking into one of those pillows upstairs, but there was still so much to do, and no one else could do it but her. He didn't understand, he was all abs, and sexy smirks and the ego to think that everything would just work out because he ordained it to be so but she knew if she looked in the mirror right now she would see the bags under her eyes. Her shoulders sagging, she nodded, he was right. Finally he turned to slide the stool back into place and closed the laptop screen.

Relieved he was no longer looming over her, Mac mentally calculated she could probably squeeze in a shower and a short power nap before she started again. She could only perform short sneak attacks on the system so she wasn't arousing suspicion, if she kept up this level of guerrilla tactics then she'd be found sooner rather than later.

"Not that bed wrecking sex couldn't be an option…" he murmured quietly as she walked ahead of him and he stifled a groan, those hips were a walking invitation for sex. Her curvy little body moved in ways that he couldn't help but take an interest in. The way her gaze had tangled with his, he was sure all he'd have to do was kiss her and she'd let him carry her upstairs to the nearest bed. She cast a nervous look back over her shoulder in his direction, a small frown marred her brown as he reached for the coffee machine. He didn't reply, merely shrugged his shoulders and pulled out another seat.

 _He wasn't going to follow her? Did she WANT him to follow her?_

She gave herself a mental slap, no, of course she didn't! Mac didn't want to dwell too strongly on why she was at once, relieved and… disappointed? Confused, she took a breath and made her way up the stairs.

 _Regroup. Gather up her mental defences… try not to read too much into his mixed signals._

 _Please hurry back Weevil…_

This whole safe house idea was jangling her nerves, the bedroom options included a NASA themed set of boys bunk beds, a pre-teen girls bedroom that looked like someone had thrown up a gallon of Pepto-Bismol and the Master bedroom, which is undoubtedly was where Dick had chosen his nap earlier, so she had resorted to cuddling up in the mountain of beady eyed teddy bears and unicorns which stared at her like she was Goldilocks and the real family who lived here would return any moment.

The wife from what she could deduce was some kind of country club mom, and had nothing at all in her wardrobe that didn't have plunging necklines or something cut below the knee. The husband, must be some kind of accountant given the amount of suits in his wardrobe, in the end, she had to settle for one of his golf polo shirts, and a pair of the lady of the houses Capri pants. At least her jumbled ensemble would keep her body covered and hopeful discourage Dick's roaming hands, she mused as she stepped under the hot water from the shower.

 _God it felt so good rinsing down over her skin…_

This couldn't continue, the jokes, the lingering glances, the hot sexy panty melting smiles, the deliciously filthy things he said. Sure, he bordered on predatory but damn she was tempted….

She had to get a grip of herself.

 _Stop thinking about him… You are a Fugitive, Mac. Remember?_

Some of the news reporters had speculated that Logan's alleged crimes had been related to gang activity. She was trying to focus on the things that could do, and not on the things that she couldn't want to think about right now or she would go insane. Was Veronica dead? There had been nothing from the coastguard hack to indicate that she had been picked up, they'd mentioned a prank call from some teenagers reported by a Russian Yacht. Lathering soap into her hair, she closed her eyes and wonder if the Kane's had sent someone to talk to her parents? If Sheriff Lamb was looking for her and Dick right now? There had been nothing reported on her Media search-bot yet. Just that Kane Industries had been experiencing some computer issues earlier.

"They're back" Dick announced as he strode into the master bedroom bathroom. The scene stopped him short, her hands suddenly reaching to cover herself. "Fuck…" he swore, his eyes trailing hungrily over her naked body.

"Can't you knock?" she shrieked, yanking a towel from the rack and pulling it around herself, shaking from the shock of being out of the hot stream. Suddenly feeling very vulnerable, but he'd barely moved from the doorway.

"The door was open…" he replied hoarsely, swallowing against a dry throat. _His little bunny was beautiful…_

"The BEDROOM door was closed… didn't you at least hear the shower?" she asked incredulously.

 _Oh God… he'd seen her naked… and he was still standing there staring at her…_

She chewed at her lips nervously, her shock had stalled her from noticing the change in his appearance, or that he stood silently holding a small bundle of clothes, looking at her like she was overreacting.

"You're shaved" she said matter-of-factly, noting that his mess of blond hair had been cropped short, and somehow the affect was much more devastating, it emphasised his cobalt blue eyes and sculpted mouth. _Like he **needed** to get any better looking…_

 _Don't say it… don't say it…_ Dick balled his hands into fists.

"So are you" he quipped and placed the clothes Daisy had brought for her onto the small counter. Yeah, he'd failed miserably at that.

"GET OUT!" She shrieked, yanking the clothes into her arms. " **NOW** before I kick your ass!"

"More GRAB my ass… relax, it ain't like you got anything I haven't seen a million times before, next time, put a sock on the door" Dick taunted, turning around and going back downstairs. He may have looked completely indifferent, but his heart was racing.


	52. Chapter 52

Mikky Ekko - Who Are You Really?

"You have a problem dude" Dick told Weevil as he sat down at the table and opened the bag that Daisy handed him, shifting through the bundle of clothes and burner phones. "That is not an ID" he declared gesturing to the small console device that the other man held in his hands. Weevil raked his impatient gaze over the other man's appearance, noting that his loose surfer-boy hair was now cropped short and that the remnants of his blonde hair sitting in the corner.

"I'm not cleaning that up…" he informed the 09er as he rolled his eyes.

"It's a card printer from the Neptune Grand security office, it's got holographic overlays and is as close to the quality DMV as you can get" Daisy explained as she started to set up the wires. "I figured if we had to get you some new temp identities then we didn't want to involve more people than absolutely necessary."

"Loose lips can't leak what they don't know. Smart" Mac agreed as she came into the room. Her dark hair was still damp, and she'd taken the time to change into the outfit that Daisy had procured for her, although they were much more form-hugging than she would have normally chosen for herself.

"Sizing looks good." Daisy nodded as Mac smoothed down the grey t-shirt self-consciously, her eyes flicking over towards Dick and then back to Daisy.

"Veronica's alive… at least she was about an hour ago" Weevil told Mac solemnly.

"How?" Dick asked, frowning. He'd known from Mac's expletives and furious clicking at the laptop earlier that the Coastguard hadn't found anything beyond the Maverick and an empty life-raft, it was being blamed on drunken pranks. There had been no mention of Veronica, and he highly doubted she was secretly a mermaid to get her petite blond ass back to shore.

 _Even if she did have a Siren's effect on Logan luring him to his ruin._

"My Cell, she must have gotten hold of it somehow but no one's been able to contact her since.. she couldn't even give much of a location… an island" Weevil elaborated, silently thankful for the loss of his phone since they'd been on the Jet-ski deck as he rubbed his jaw with the base of his palm. Elec had called him on the ride over, shit was going down tonight beyond his little adventures at sea, there had been a raid at one of their stash houses and Thumper was using his absence to fuel a revolution. He was claiming the attention from Sheriff Lamb because of Veronica's search for Logan was putting the gang at unnecessary risk, for not upholding their brotherhood after Felix and the alleged news about Logan being responsible for the bus crash which had claimed another PCHer, Elec's younger brother Cervando. Trouble was brewing and lines formed between his brows. Whatever went down when this was all over, it would never be alright again.

 _Take a deep breath, hold on tight._

"Where did all this rain come from?" Toni yawned as he climbed out of his seat. His shoulders visibly slumped as he looked around their little impromptu command centre. "Too much to hope this was all just some bad tequila?" he sighed, folding his muscled arms across his chest, quirking an eyebrow at Daisy.

"No one's asking you to stay big guy" she smiled weakly.

"I am!" Dick protested, and even to his own ears that sounded a little cowardly, but that wasn't his intention. He'd stay here with Mac, but he didn't want to be the only thing between her and those guys coming for his miniature cyber-spook. His typical lustful interest seemed to have simmered down into something even more insidious… concern. Besides all their wordless horny communication, seems he was rather fixated on her safety too. That was… unsettling.

Mac's mind was reeling, small, calculated data processing, her fingers itched to get back onto her computer and go hacking into the Sheriff's department again to track that cell phone. Veronica was alive… or they'd had confirmation that she was in the last hour. There had been no disturbance from the Amazon Echo she'd been eavesdropping on the Blue Moon with, from the sounds, it was practically a ghost ship but if what Weevil had revealed was true. Then it had been for nothing. She was no longer on board.

 _So where was she?_

"Let's solve the parts we can" Daisy's voice was soft and Mac felt the air fill her lungs in quick, choppy bursts.

"I won't be able to do much from here soon. They will track the IP." Mac informed her quietly.

Weevil massaged his temples with his fingers. "Okay… I might have an idea"

He couldn't help Veronica yet, Elec had said he was working on something but he wouldn't elaborate. Weevil could help Mac and Dick though stay one step ahead of the Kane's. His uncle had that Winnebago in his yard, they'd use it occasionally when some of his guys needed to lay low, if he switched out the plates and let shorty here do her thing, hack the DMV, register it under the new information. They could get mobile, seems Surfer Boy had already embraced changing up his looks to avoid detection. He had no idea where they would go, but it was an option he could think about now he wasn't trying to figure out how to evade Lamb's manhunt for Echolls. A vein fluttered in his forehead, he was a gang-leader… but this was a wealthy deranged tech mogul with Russian Goons, State Officials and the Sheriff's Departments in his pocket.

 _It was a regular fucking party. Scratch the surface on that shiny upper echelons and it was just as dirty underneath as anyplace he knew._

"That camper you mentioned? Can you make it happen?" Daisy asked. He nodded, standing up and reaching for his phone. Poor kid looked like a wounded beast, their world was tilting, and sooner or later hysterics were going to set in if she didn't keep them moving. Antonio occasionally joked with her about having such a high staff turnover because her bossy take-no-prisoners approach to life made her meddle into convincing her wayward underlings to flee the nest for better things. Consequence of being a military brat she supposed. "Okay, let's be useful" Daisy said, giving the burners to Dick. "Assign each of us one of these, transfer the numbers into the contacts"

"These are flip phones? And they have buttons?" his puzzled tone drew Mac's attention, as if sensing her gaze on him, he looked up and her face heated.

"Yeah, it's very 2003. It's all they had." Daisy shot back. "Can you handle it?"

 _I'd rather handle Mac… but sure…_

"Yeah" he quipped, rolling his eyes, anything to distract himself from that flushed look on Mac's face, or how much he wanted to use those dimples of Venus on her lower back as thumb cushions..

"Geoff gave me some discs, drivers or something, but this isn't really my area, new clothes, some get away cash from Logan's gambling wins he'd kept stashed at my place in case his dad won that trial and got out" Daisy told the shorter girl as she handed over the discs. She'd mentioned that Logan rented her the property he'd bought when he'd evicted Weevil a few months ago. Apparently, he'd been using it as secret back up plan if Aaron Echolls won his trial, essentially getting away with murder.

"Getting your Boyfriend involved now?" Toni said shaking his head.

"He thinks it's a side hustle for the bar with the PCHers and Sal, I haven't told him anything" Daisy assured him.

"I should probably get into the county records office, get some birth&death certificates, new identities will be easier if we have real social security numbers from those who died in infancy. In case we ever get pulled over" Mac sighed. Was she really planning that far ahead?

"What's the point of creating new identities if we can't pick a cool name?" Dick protested.

"The point is to get you off the grid someplace safe until this can be resolved" Toni reminded him firmly.

"Well can we at least get some choice in the name? So it's I dunno.. easier to remember?" he asked, snapping one of the phones shut.

"Sure, you're John Smith" Daisy sighed sarcastically as she began loading the plastic cards.

"Best we just stick to something inconspicuous and not as obvious" Toni told Mac.

"Might as well add a few inches while I'm at it" Mac muttered incomprehensibly under her breath selecting a template and loading up the certificates. She took the new license plate information from Weevil and set to work.

Admiring her handy work, Toni whistled in awe, shaking his head. "I've seen a lot of these trying to sneak through that door, this is some nice work" he complimented as he handed the ID back to Mac. He'd been helping to perfect her methodology. Seems having a resident Bouncer as a second opinion was an opportune advantage.

"We can download the e-certificates and social security cards to use electronically too" Mac stuttered, stiffening as Dick slid the phone he'd prepared for her into the back pocket of her jeans while he leaned over her shoulder to look at the screen.

"Is this mine?" he asked, his breath tickling her neck, it took her a few moments to realise he was talking about the ID on the counter despite the lazy certainty that filled his expression. Mutely she nodded.

 _What was his point with all of this teasing?_

"Richard Head. Cool" he nodded admiring his handsome picture, and Daisy pursed her lips to suppress a grin.

 _Revenge for the shower, you ass!_

"Yeah, that way you can keep using your first name" Mac said innocently as she stepped away to pick up the cup of coffee Toni offered.

Unable to hold back any longer Weevil left the room with a deep chuckle, erupting into a hearty belly laugh despite the craziness of their situation.

"Hey!" Dick huffed as he finally realised what on Earth his companion found so amusing with the name on his fake ID.


	53. Chapter 53

_(Holding On and Letting Go by Ross Copperman)_

 _She sat there like she was infiltrating behind enemy lines…_ His eyes were as sharp as needles as Dimitri watched Veronica from where he played chess with Yuri. A tiny muscle flexed in his jaw, he wasn't entire sure of Jake's motivation to hand over those surveillance reports to the teenage sleuth. Perhaps he just wanted her to see the truth of her lover's lies. Murdering pretty teenage girls was something even he found distasteful. They were taking shelter from this storm until morning and then it wouldn't be long until arrangements were made to dispatch with the Echoll's boy. The rain and waves beating along the shore were like the symphony of the seas, unlike most, he found the thunder rather soothing. His dark eyes locked with that intelligent blue gaze, there was more to this petite blonde than one could discern at first glance. He'd seen it when she'd stood feet planted and aimed that flare gun at him when they had been on the boat.

"She's trouble" Yuri grumbled in Russian as he predictably moved his bishop to F4.

"Women always are" Dimitri sneered as he made his counter move as his opponent studied the board again like he was dissecting a frog, not that it did much good. Yuri wasn't much of a challenge. Veronica could feel the beat of her heart thundering through her chest as she picked up the folded note; she'd almost been killed trying to find this piece of paper before.

Did she really want to read it? Could she really afford to get distracted by it? Especially when the Russian Goon Squad were still skating over her body, measuring her up, bone by none, tendon by tendon. Assessing how much of a problem she would be.

 _Or mentally calculating how long it would take to throw her body in a woodchipper…_ She closed her eyes and swore silently. She had to snap out of it. That kind of panic wasn't helping. Next time she went up sleuthing the Mafia in a thunderstorm, she would have to remember her trenchcoat and fedora. Tucking a wayward strand of her blond hair behind her ear, she unravelled the small piece of paper and began to read it. The familiar writing was unmistakably Logan's.

 _Dear Lilly,_

 _I've tried to talk to you about this mess between us but every time we get into the same breathing space it seems all we do is fight or end up in bed together. Quite often both. So maybe by writing it down, like one of those letters you've been denying someone's been sending you lately, I can finally get it out._

 _I love you._

The writing began to blur as her eyes watered and she swallowed against the lump in her throat. She continued reading the paper in her hands. She remembered those turbulent final few weeks before Logan had stormed off to Tijuana with Dick and Cassidy, he hadn't really been speaking to her but she knew from Lilly that there had been high drama between the teenage paramours. Their tempers had always been explosive.. _Fuse, meet Match._ Reading Logan's side of things was a lot harder than she'd thought it would be but it's like the words had their own gravitational pull, urging her onwards.

 _You're my Home, Lilly. We were always supposed to be more. Something special. But I know that I care about your feelings more than mine, so I'm done. I don't want to be the reason you are unhappy. I know that's why you have been avoiding me. I won't fight to keep you, if it means that I'm going to push you away. You need something that you can only get from someone else. As much as I would want you to choose me... I don't want us to get to the point where we wish that we had never laid eyes on each other._

 _So it's over. I know that now. I am here if you ever need anything._

 _I'd rather have you in my life as my friend because you are too important to me to lose completely._

 _Forever yours,_

 _Logan._

Yet he had lost her. Veronica thought back to the day on the beach, the haunted look in his eyes as he'd stared out along the water.

"You know if you read that letter… you'd know I'd never hurt her" he'd told her. He'd been telling the truth. For Logan, giving his entire heart to someone was as simple as breathing; he never had any kind of uncertainty over what he felt for her. Reading the letter had been a sucker punch to the gut. He'd loved Lilly with everything, and she'd betrayed him. It made her furious to think of her ill-fated friends treatment of Logan that day. The unfairness of it all stung like it had been ripped from her own soul. She glanced over the words again, folded it and slipped it discreetly into her pocket. She wanted Lilly back so she could yell at her for what she'd done. For hurting him, for getting herself killed. She squashed the urge to launch herself at Jake Kane and demand how he could have read this letter and thought that Logan had anything to do with Lilly's murder. His face was icily blank as Jake stared into the ice at the bottom of his glass.

 _Some people never should have been parents… Lilly's had walked in and out of her life like she was some kind of train station… She'd told Veronica once that she'd felt like she didn't exist to anyone… no wonder she'd gone searching for something… even if that attention had been as dangerous as Aaron Echolls… but none of them could do anything over again._

She moved several of the papers in the folder out of the way and perused through the photographs, several of them were of Logan down by the beach, some were taken from a parking garage rooftop she knew well overlooking the Neptune Grand hotel as he stood on the balcony, probably captured using a telescopic lens. She'd used a similar method when getting evidence of infidelity cases for her dad. Her arms ached to reach through the pictures and hold him, but the one that killed her the most was a snap shot of Logan with a pained expression taken a few days ago as he looked through the window of Java The Hut, she could sort of make out the outline of herself rearranging the cake stand. Regret was sneaking into every crevice of her being. He'd been as heartbroken as she was… he just had one hell of a poker face. She'd been denying her feelings for him, putting them both through Hell… and it had only ended up hurting them both. She snuck a cautionary look back towards the two men playing, Yuri's brows puckering as his boss declared checkmate yet again. Her teeth gnawed at her bottom lip as a shudder rolled across her when one brow quirked up as Dimitris eyes connected with hers again. Acrobats had made a home in her stomach and she tucked her legs tighter up to her chest as she pulled the blanket around herself. He'd followed her every move even if his men had now grown a little relaxed. Some primitive part of her brain was screaming _Danger, Danger, Run!_

Veronica averted her gaze, as she felt his eyes narrow, and his mouth drawing into a thin line. It didn't take a genius to know when she was being sized up by a predator. He was built like a raging Neanderthal, and his seemingly cool indifference was betrayed by that suspicious furrow between his brows as he sat back in his chair and said something Russian in his low, deep voice to Sergei who moved from his post and started about making use of the large logwood fireplace adjacent to them.

"Take her to get cleaned up" Dimitri ordered Boris as he pointed towards the clothes which Veronica had been brought earlier which still sat untouched in a neat pile. If they had to have an unexpected detained guest, the last thing he wanted was the girl to be getting ill. Sickness required medical attention, and that usually attracted unwanted attention.

Stiffening Veronica stood back from his reach as the tall man reached out for her. "Piz-dets" She heard the Yuri curse.

"Escort her to the bedroom with the en-suite bathroom. I do not think I need I need to tell you to keep your hands to yourself. Veronica knows it is in her best interests to behave" Dimitri ground out, but the warning was clear. There was no point in trying to run… there was no way off this island and any attempts to do so would be an open invitation for her captors to withdraw their pretence at civility. She held his gaze, her blue eyes probably looked like drops of ice as she scooped up the clothes in her hand as she was ushered out of the room by the younger man.

 _Be a good little mouse Veronica… the cats got to sleep sometime…_

Until then, she'd use this as an opportunity to get the layout of the house.


	54. Chapter 54

_(Ofenbach - Be Mine)_

 _The man had an ego so big she could camp on it…_ Mac seethed glancing over at Dick as he slouched back in his chair at the kitchen table. The dark jeans and t-shirt he was wearing made him appear like a powerful, lean shadow just lurking in her periphery. Not that he was making any effort to even make his presence felt, he was smiling to himself at something he was watching on the laptop. Probably some Cat Videos or Porn… she mused as Mac went over the shopping list of computer equipment again. Determined to ignore him, she tried to think if there was anything else needed from the supply run they were going to send Daisy for. She'd brought some basics earlier to keep them going, but given the news reports had just declared that the suspected Hackers into Kane Industries Software had been located in Neptune. Mac knew it wouldn't be long until Jake Kane and Associates decided to narrow the escape routes of their quarry by releasing her identity to the press and the Sheriff's Department.

#FakeNews #WorstSheriffEver

Corruption and death walked hand and hand in Neptune, only a fool would ever think otherwise, yet she would give anything to go back to this morning and un-know all of this.

 _Please be okay Veronica... I'm trying to get something on them to help you and Logan..._

Weevil had determined that the only safe place for them now was to get out of town. Far away from the cameras and the media circus currently descending onto Neptune in the aftermath of Aaron Echolls alleged suicide confession. Better to leave town before those story hungry journalists went digging into Jake Kane's life and conspiracy theorists tried to link Logan and the Kane's security breach. She'd had enough chats about how to evade detection from private investigators from Veronica and her father when Duncan Kane had gone missing last year and she'd helped find the evidence to track him down. That cash Logan had been secretly stockpiling from his gambling wins could probably keep them going for a few months. If they were smart about this then there was no reason to think that they'd get caught before Logan woke up and gave them his version of events, and Mr Mars or whoever investigated and this whole mess was cleared up while she stayed off-grid away from everything and everyone she knew. One way or another, when she got into that campervan Weevil was bringing for them… she was having to leave her life to fate.

"What about your hair?" Daisy suggested giving the short teen a once over, her shiny dark hair was an obvious give away in the sea of California Blue-eyed Blondes if someone came looking for her in a crowd and her pale skin definitely wouldn't let her pass for anything else.

"Ummmm…" she replied, self-consciously tucking a strand behind her ear.

"Red" Dick chirped up from his perch.

"Red? Why so I can pretend I'm a carrot?" Mac muttered angrily as she took the laptop from him. She'd only relinquished control of it because he'd insisted on picking out his new names himself.

"Only if you wanna get dirty" he smirked quietly as he picked up the recent ID he'd printed, doing his best not to make it too obvious how his blue eyes soaked up every strategically hidden little curve his fevered brain couldn't help but compare to the sight permanently burned into his mind now of her naked in the shower.

 _No way when all this was over was that going to be the last time he saw those..._

Daisy had suggested they create a few different Alias's since this was probably going to be the last time for a while they'd have access to a machine like this. They'd both chosen about four, complete with driver's license, University library and Student cards. She wasn't sure they were exactly up the standard needed to board airplanes or enter federal buildings but hopefully they would work long enough to be able to book greyhound tickets or book a hotel room, or maybe open a small checking account. Carrying around this much cash long term was a ridiculous solution. Thankfully the hacked DMV licenses she'd issued them were registered with the birth certificates on the County Records site. The one bonus to being such a tech nerd, was since everything went digital, a lot of those records could be accepted using an electronic version. She hadn't erased the death certificates of the ID's they'd chosen… simply buried them into the system. She should be focusing on this rather than the lingering glances Dick kept giving her that said he was thinking about getting acquainted in the most biblical way possible.

Mac would put them back when this was all over she promised… _if this ever stopped. Someone in the Kane's security team had figured out her VPN backchatter firewall_. She shouldn't have been surprised, they were a Global Tech Empire after all… but Mac was sure that only a select few in the Neptune Social Justice Hacktivist Network knew that code. Only three other people she knew of would be able to try and reverse her encryption that fast… one of them was surely either immersed in World of Warcraft or asleep and the other was currently surviving time at a juvenile detention centre for trying to frame one of her classmates as a domestic terrorist.

"Wyatt Myers?" Daisy queried as she handed him the second card, a template of a library pass.

"After that Aaron C Reskew I'm surprised you didn't go with Michael" Toni commented inspecting the new license.

"I have to admit, Anita Bang was pretty funny" Weevil as he sipped on his soda. Elec had promised to track down his uncle after he did something for Mr Mars. They'd get access to the junkyard so they could get that camper driven over in a few hours. There wasn't much they could do until all the supplies had been gathered up, the only good this about the bad weather is it'd make getting them out of town easier. Not too many witnesses would bother being out on roads like that.

"Denny Juan Heredatt?" Dick shrugged.

"Alright guys knock it off" Daisy growled in frustration as she looked over the map. After this part was over, Dick and Mac would be on their own. Weevil had been plotting out a route for them using the off season summer camp sites where they should be able to travel up North mostly undetected. Too many of them travelling together would attract the wrong kind of attention and Weevil was going to stay and keep them appraised of the developments at home. She needed to stay and make sure someone was looking out for Logan.

Dick watched Mac as her keen eyes widened in horror as she glanced at the laptop in her hands.

"What the hell is this?" she demanded as she gulped down an unsteady breath.

Dick shifted from his seat and grinned as he looked down at the screen. "Oh that.."

"YES! THAT?!" she shrieked, blinking as if hoping that the screen would change.

 _This isn't happening…. This cannot be real…_

"It's a certificate" he nodded nonchalantly in amusement as he moved passed her and went to stand beside Weevil, perusing over the small markers and rest stops on the new sat-nav. Personally Dick thought they should set up someplace like Vegas were the population was mostly transient and full of tourists.. plenty of places to get lost in the crowd.

 _Or a hotel suite..._

"It's a **_marriage_** certificate!" Mac snapped as everyone else in the room paused momentarily to look between the two of them. "I mean…. Why would you…? How… ?" she stammered at a loss for words.

"It was just a joke…" Dick shrugged, pursing her lips she closed her eyes and counted to ten.

"It's got our names on it… yours and mine!" Mac complained, pointing at the page, her slate grey eyes flaring angrily as she looked at it closer. Hauling in a sharp breath as it got even worse, it had been saved… and the official records were filed as being sent off to the federal database for issue. Printed documents were recorded as being available to collect from Neptune County Records Office in a few days. "Our REAL names…"

 _I'm gonna be sick…_ The tab to delete the record before her parents received a copy of the certificates wouldn't be available to undo for 5-10 business days.

"So?" he questioned as Daisy rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"So… it's the official County Records department… It's stamped with a license declaration… you issued us a REAL marriage certificate!" Mac scolded as she ran a hand through her hair and began pacing. "For now…. This is LEGAL!"

 _What would her boyfriend Cassidy say when he found out she was married to his brother? What would her parents say? Or Reverend Andrews?_

When the Kanes leaked her identity to the Press as the cyber attacker… they would find this. It would be everywhere like they were some kind of 2019 Cyber version of Bonnie & Clyde… her folks would think she ran away across the country with him.

 _Cindy Casablancas? The thought made her want to heave. Everyone at school would think she was pregnant..._

"Doesn't that stuff have to be done by anointed persons or something for it to be Official?" Weevil asked in disbelief as he glared at Dick.

"Absolutely. This doesn't count" Toni soothed.

"Yeah, it's not like he's properly sanctioned by the Church or State of California or anything" Weevil scoffed, trying to calm the short brunette.

"Well actually…." Dick said, rubbing the back of his neck, an embarrassed flush creeping into his face. It had been an accident... he'd been wistfully playing with their names the way cheerleaders doodled the names of their boyfriends on their notebooks. He hadn't actually meant to get them officially married. Even if it did please some inner possessive part of his psyche.

 _Nothing said MINE louder than putting a ring on it._

"Oh God… Really?!" Daisy sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest as she watched Mac look at the surfer boy in dismay.

 _Well, that comment didn't help…_

Weevil locked gazes with Dick as his lips twisted and asked every question with one single sarcastic raised eyebrow.

"My dad got re-married last Summer… I got ordained online and officiated it" His words sounded like they were coming from another room, or from under water as Mac got lost in his blue eyes searching her face. "Besides… I did us a favour. They cant compel you testify against your spouse." Dick reasoned as she shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. Rocking on her heels like some kind of enraged pint-sized pixie.

"Lord if you give me strength I'm gonna need bail money" Mac muttered as she picked up the laptop and spun on her heel into the living room.


	55. Chapter 55

Michael Schulte - Back to the Start

"You do know that lying through your teeth doesn't count as flossing?" Veronica quipped as a bright smile lit up her whole face, her arms reaching around his waist as Logan grinned down at her. The stress from the last few months was over and he felt oddly freer than he had in a long time as he snuck around the small barrier and pulled her to him. His initial foray into winning her one of the stuffed animal prizes had failed miserably because he'd barely been able to take his eyes from her as she kept teasing him with small glimpses of her stomach and biting her lower lip. One which he'd promptly abandoned his quest to come back and reclaim now the queue seemed to have thinned out a little as the high school talent show indie band winners took to the stage to begin their opening set.

"Hey – that bear would have been mine… I'm telling you, it's the sugar high, you've thrown me off my game with all these slush-puppies" he retorted looking down at his empty plastic cup save a few pieces of purple coloured ice then he leaned over the concession stand to steal a quick kiss. "If it means I get to stand here all day with my girl, then I'll gladly lose" he breathed against her mouth and she savoured the taste of him, playfully nibbling at his lower lip.

He groaned hungrily in response, his fingers itched to reach up beneath her shirt, to explore her everywhere.

"You should go enjoy the rest of the carnival" she replied, removing her arms from around his neck as she started to move away but he caught her just behind the shoulders and pulled her tighter. Unwilling to be further from her as he ate up her little whimper, claiming her mouth with his. Her lips parting as he delved in hungrily, lifting her upwards until she sat perched on the small table beside them.

"All these other people in the world… I'd rather enjoy you and me hiding out in the back of the moon bounce" he smiled as kissed along her throat.

"Alright… Alright… Mr Echolls, this is not the Kissing booth and Ms Mars has some other things than your tongue to be attending to" Mrs. Hauser scolded.

"Duty calls" Veronica sighed apologetically as she gave him a small smile and he kissed her affectionately on the forehead. He shrugged at the disapproving Mrs. Hauser as she clutched her clipboard tighter to her chest and moved along to the next stand as he watched Veronica serve several of the kids in line. If his teachers disapproval was the least of his worries, then he'd gladly face down the whole faculty if it meant he got to stay close to her.

Veronica glanced over her shoulder at him, their eyes dancing in a slow tango and he felt his heart flip over. Everything in that smile was warm, happy, her blue eyes were filled with love and promising sexual highs between them when her shift was all over. His heart was pounding with the possibilities and he knew his eyes glimmered with satisfaction of finally having her back.

Stepping away for a moment he went to the small deserts stand just behind them and bought a small tub of chocolate covered strawberries he'd seen her looking at longingly. Admiring the sunshine he looked around the school grounds which had been turned into a temporary fairground.

 _Life was good…_

It felt like he'd finally conquered all those shifting sands and revolving doors, and he had a serious determination that Veronica Mars was going to be a constant, permanent part of his future, and him in hers. Right at the heart of it.

He could stay here forever.

Duncan Kane glanced at his phone again for the second time, unable to get a straight answer from his mother or the Kane Industries head of security on his father's whereabouts. Not that they'd tell him what was going on anyways. He tried Veronica again but nothing, and there was no answer at her dads detective agency. Logan still wasn't out of the woods yet, and the doctors were worried that prolonged unconsciousness could be an indication of long-term cognitive damage. Part of him was worried as hell that his friend would never be the same… another part was sickeningly glad that his rival was in this condition, he deserved it for stealing the woman that he loved.

Mostly he felt ill. Veronica and Logan were the last two tangible links he still had with his sister. He didn't wanna lose them, but he wasn't sure if he could stomach seeing them together.

Or being the consolation prize picking up the pieces of Veronica if the news reports were true.

Evidence kept pouring in about his roommates suspected involvement in the school bus crash. The one that had almost killed him if he'd stayed on the bus. That confession of Aaron Echolls was almost on a constant loop and he could see the rapt attention of the hospital visitors and staff looking at the television beside the nurses station. His friend had been positioned in a private room to keep the press hounds out of the way, and two armed officers were posted outside the door.

 _What had gone down tonight? He was still trying to deal with the aftermath of discovering he had a secret kid on the way._

Finally he'd given up waiting and dialled Wallace Fennels number but he'd been unable to shed much more light on the situation. Declaring only that Veronica had gone to see Weevil Navarro because Logan had disappeared but that he hadn't heard from her since. She'd found Weevil… that much Duncan knew from earlier when he'd seen them together.

 _Why the hell had he sent her way… and what the Hell had happened to Logan he'd ended up in hospital?_

Duncan had tried contact Trina Echolls but so far there had been nothing but her voicemail.

"Veronica…." Logan murmured unconsciously and Duncan ground his teeth together. Gripping his phone tighter in his hand as he watched the familiar footage of Aaron Echolls the night he'd been taken into custody roll over the screen and willed Logan to open his eyes.


	56. Chapter 56

Flight Facilities - Crave You

"What were you even thinking?" Mac demanded as she shoved several of the items they would 'borrowing' from the owners of the Safe House they were currently hiding into her rucksack. Toni had suggested they rummage around the parking garage and see if they had any camping gear or cooking stoves which they could take with them until they got settled at a safer distance.

"Ummm you… naked… squirming under me.. moaning my name…? Its rather Pornographic…" Dick answered amusement gleaming in his eyes as he took the flashlight from Mac, his eyes undressing her. Veronica was still alive; he didn't understand why she being so pissed with him.

 _It's not like they were really married or anything…_

Daisy and Weevil had set off to get the rest of the supplies and would be returning in the Campervan.

"That's not funny" she said solemnly and went back to looking through the box where she'd found gas for the small camp fire.

"Apparently… did you leave your sense of humour back on that boat?" Dick grumbled as he moved to look through the boxes on the higher shelves. He wasn't even sure what he was supposed to be looking for. He'd never been camping outdoors before, the closest he'd gotten was Glamping at a music festival… and even that come with reservations and a private limo to the 5* Hotel nearby.

"Did you leave your brain in first grade?" Mac cursed as she continued to stomp around, peeking through the tool kit for stuff they might if they had to do repairs. Thankfully, all those backroad camping trips with her folks in their airstream over the years, she was pretty handy with fixing engine trouble. Handing him a few items he stared at her blankly. "Why are you even still here?" she demanded, her voice shaking with the strong emotions rippling through her body. That last cyberattack she'd launched at Kane Industries had been too close. She couldn't risk another attempt at their databases from here. It's like they had someone on the inside who knew her playbook.

"And miss the honeymoon?" he shot back casually, knowing it was a mistake immediately when her bullet grey eyes widened in anger.

"Oh that's it! You wanna keep acting like some Mills & Boon Millionaire BRUTE… be warned that you forgot a Pre-nup for this Sham of a fake Marriage… just you wait for the Divorce!" Mac threw at him dismissively over her shoulder reaching into the tool box again. Jumping when she heard the thud of the rucksack that Dick had been holding and before she turn to see what he was doing she felt his breath, hot and heavy against her neck as he placed both his hands beside her head. The entire width of her arms fit between his shoulders, she fit him perfectly... caging her in.

"It's only counts as a divorce if it's consummated" Dick stated pointedly, his voice a low grumble, felt like it was humming in her belly as she swallowed nervously. Slowly she turned and her startled gaze locked with his.

"C-consumme-?" she stuttered. "If you are hungry… find somebody else to devour… like Madison!"

"No… I prefer eating sexy lil Nerds…" His voice as deep and dark as his gaze. His ruggedly masculine face was very near, his breath warming her cheeks. A frown formed gradually on his face as he studied her expression. His Doe-eyed little cyber sleuth. An unfamiliar treacherous need building again as her entire body felt shocked alive… a nervous excitement that was painfully aware of just how close he was to her. Her heart felt like it was trying to batter its way through her ribcage.

 _Stupid… Stupid Mac…._

Heat running through her veins as he stood so near… part of her ached for him to touch her, to wrap her arms around his neck and attack his face with hot desperate kisses until she could get lost in him, to escape this constant terror she'd felt since seeing what was happening to Logan on that boat. Some life affirm hot drugging kisses until they were both dizzy with it.

 _Any minute now she'd come to her senses… she'd push him away... they were preparing to flee for their lives.. they didn't have TIME for this…_

"You don't have to be here…" she repeated, barely a whisper as her earlier fire seemed to desert her. He was looking at her now intently… like he was remembering every moment he'd interrupted her shower, and her cheeks flushed. Disapproval twisted his mouth as his blue eyes hardened.

"I'm here because I'm not going to leave you…" he ground out, an angry look she hadn't seen before, holding her gaze for a long dizzying moment. "So yeah… I could just report my phone as stolen…" Dick agreed, as he reached a hand down to her hips, his voice had taken on a husky quality. "Tell Lamb that you, Weevil and Veronica blackmailed me with something if I didn't take you out on that boat?"

 _Not go along for the ride and protect whats mine?_

"Exactly… I don't have to be y-your worry" Mac said, her voice trembling as his other hand cupped her face back and tilted her chin up.

"You aren't… You're my wife" he whispered as he guided her gently into him and kissed her. Just a brief caress of their lips and when he stepped back from her she almost stumbled forwards.

 _He tasted like Heaven but being with him felt like sin… a sin she'd gladly face time in Hell for if it could satiate this burning hunger..._

"The things I'm thinking of doing to you are so filthy you'd need a bath" he teased, the seduction of his heated stare, she could barely whisper a response. Drowning in their blue, as clear as an unmarred summer sky.

"I've already showered.." she murmured nonsensically, realizing her mistake when he stepped away from her completely, leaving her mourning the warmth of his body.

"I remember" he said, sounding like he was gritting his teeth before he spun away from her, forcing himself to breathe and walk back towards the bag. Like he needed to be reminded of her sexy, slippery curves when he was still trying to distance himself from that live wire response to even a brief kiss?

"Why do you keep doing this?" she asked in frustration, her fingers rubbing into her temples.

 _For God sakes… his girlfriend was Madison Sinclair… Prom Queen wannabe… blonde bombshell with a perfect ass and head cheerleader!_

He fixed her with a hard glare that spoke straight to her lets-get-naked hormones. They both knew her frustration with him was that she was angry he'd stopped.

"Shouldn't you be asking me NOT to do keep doing this?" as he regarded her through narrowed eyes. She was his little brothers girlfriend after all… even if they were technically married. She crossed her arms angrily and broke eye contact.

"That's not an answer" Mac replied furiously, her heart pounding like she'd just been chased by the devil himself.

"You enjoy it" he bite out.

"Enjoy? More like endure it!" she countered, her grey eyes flashing silver as she challenged his gaze.

Goodness knows how long they'd be on the run together…. How could she get through this?

"Keep talking Bunny, and I'll give you that Wedding Night" he warned her, watching as Mac snapped her mouth shut quickly and wrapped her arms around herself. Dick smiled broadly at her obvious embarrassment; she was such an innocent, even though everything about her body screamed she wanted this as much as he did.

Seemingly schooling her nerves back into some kind of neutral expression, she turned and closed the tool box, before moving past him towards the main house.

"I wonder what Madison would think of your games" Mac muttered, feeling slightly braver when they reached the main house.

"I wouldn't care either way…. I only started dating Madison because I have the hots for her Mom" Dick shrugged before he ventured back into the kitchen leaving Mac staring after him speechless.

(lol as you can probably tell, I've been having a little fun with Mac and Dick's subplot in this fic the last few chapters)


	57. Chapter 57

Havana by Camila Cabello blared out over the speakers as Logan handed Dick a beer, arching an eyebrow at the latest selection on the ipod dock but his best friend just shrugged, sipping on his drink. Logan's gaze drifted back towards the house where several of their classmates and some students from a few towns over were taking advantage of the Pool at the Casablancas house.

 _No sign of her yet…_ he peeled at the label on his bottle nervously, frowning when Dick rolled his eyes as he noticed the gesture.

The great thing about living in Southern California was the constant beautiful weather, and the opportunities it presented to get hot girls to strip off and climb into the Hot Tub. Since his father's unexpected departure to escape the authorities, these pool parties had become a regular occurrence now they had zero parental supervision. Tonight had been the first time he'd ventured out amongst the other 09ers since getting back together with Veronica.

Since solving Lilly's murder and socially exonerating her dad, Veronica had been back on the Neptune High Social Scene while dating Duncan over the summer, yet this was a first for them. The slow beginnings of the truce between his girlfriend and his BFF had resulted in her accepting Dick's invitation to the party at his house. Logan understood her reservations, given their past, this was a huge step forward, but he still didn't want to let her out of his sight. Protectively keeping an eye on the guest house for signs of the petite blonde coming back to where she'd left him waiting. They'd arrived together but she'd been stolen away that new student Gia to change into her swimsuit, and she hadn't come back yet.

 _The only bed she'd be waking up in tomorrow morning would be her own…_

"Dude…. When you are done waiting around like a gallant knight, don't forget the whole plan for my party… Debauchery, Madness and Mayhem, followed by Hotties… but most of all, we are here to have a good time… and if your ass ain't in that hot tub in the next hour. I'm gonna throw you in the pool… which reminds me…" Dick muttered before he wandered off without explanation. Perhaps some willing female company, since Madison had dumped him to save face after the gossip at school about how he'd had a had a hush-hush sexual fling with Bus-crash victim Betina.

"DICK STOP IT! PUT ME DOWN!" Beaver pleaded with his brother before he was unceremoniously tossed fully clothed into the pool much to the disgust of Mac, the short brunette Cassidy was currently dating. Unlike the rest of the party-goers, the two of them had been settled happily by the fire pit in the garden, enjoying a burger from the barbeque and ignoring the rest of festivities while working on their computers.

"Was that really necessary?" Logan sighed, feeling sorry for the younger Casablancas as he watched Mac hand him a towel when he climbed back out of the water, soaked.

"Absolutely…" Dick nodded, frowning as the young couple walked back towards the house. "I told him this was a pool party" he grumbled irrationally as he picked up another beer, as if that meant it made perfect sense to just kidnap his brother and humiliate him in front of his date.

If he didn't know any better Logan would say that there was more than just the usual sibling 'fun' motivating Dick's constant harassment of Cassidy's relationship with Mac than Dick was willing to admit. It was on the tip of his tongue to call him out for being jealous, but Logan wasn't one to pry. It could be perfectly plausible that Dick was just annoyed because he'd lost his natural wingman, and now that Logan was back together with Veronica, Dick was finding himself in that awkward position of being the dreaded third wheel.

"How else could I help him get her up to his room? He's being such a nerd…" Dick continued, pointing at the computer set up in the corner in mortification. "I mean.. is that homework? He didn't even try and get her into the hot tub! It's like we don't share the same genes at all! Have I taught him nothing?" Dick said as he appraised the short brunette following his brother inside silently.

"Did I miss the excitement?" Veronica quipped nervously, tucking a strand of her blond hair behind her ear, awaiting his reaction.

"Just Dick giving Cassidy a lesson in human mating rituals…" Logan laughed as he turned back to face his girlfriend.

The sight that greeted him made his jaw drop open as Dick whistled in appreciation. Veronica stood in a miniscule red hot bikini beside Gia, who was standing with a very self-satisfied smirk at her handiwork.

"Legs, Ronnie, YAOOO! You have been hiding that…" Dick complimented, making a gesture motioning up and down her body "for far too long… now… as Host, I have to go Mingle… make sure and try out the Pina Coladas… and Gia… Hotness Hallelujah!" he grinned, noting the taller girls black strappy one piece as he handed her a beer, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, guiding her off to meet some people.

Logan barely registered their absence as he swallowed hard, taking in the sexy vision he'd been dreaming feverishly about for months. Clearing his throat he handed her a soda as he tried to coax his tongue into action, with so much of her body on display like this, it was impossible not to drool. Her fingers grazed his as she took the cup from him and those blue eyes locked shyly with his.

 _Still so innocent… fuck.. was she trying to kill him?_

"I know its uh… She's very persistent" Veronica said self-consciously, his silence was probably making her worse.

"You look…" he swallowed, lost in raking his eyes hungrily over her, tightening his grip around his beer to stop the itch in his fingers from reaching out to explore every inch of her. All rational thought had just evaporated. His pants tightened and he was thankful that he'd declined Dick's offer of changing just yet because there's no way in hell he wouldn't be pitching a tent in his shorts right now.

 _She looked like a pint sized centerfold from every fantasy he'd ever had about her…_

"Naked… I feel naked… I should probably put on a shirt" she nodded reaching for a towel on the chair beside them. He'd spent the better part of the last three years chasing highs and trying everything to just feel alive, but nothing had ever stirred his blood like the thought of hauling her against his body and claiming what was his. More than ever he wished he still had his own house, he'd give anything for the privacy of his own garden, the hot tub, and an entire night just the two of them, him peeling away those flimsy strings and giving himself to her body and soul.

"How about you help me take mine off?" he said in a gruff voice, his greedy hands claiming her hips, picking her up, wrapping those sexy short legs around his waist and kissing her much to the delight of the spectators around them. Laughing as she blushed and buried her face in the crook of his neck, he walked them both to the pools edge and plunged them both in.

Sheriff Donald Lamb glared through the hospital window at the Echolls kid laying in the bed, his roommate had arrived a few hours ago and was currently perched on the seat next to the bed, the Media circus regarding the accusation he'd been responsible for the bus crash had meant he'd had to put two of his guys on the door, and he was checking things out here to escape from the constant calls from angry relatives of the victims.

"Sheriff… the report finally came in from that check on the cameras down by the Marina, there was no footage found of the break in at the Harbour masters offices, or who checked out that boat, but the ID on the stuff found at that abandoned with it came back positive for Cindy McKenzie and her mother confirms that she's been missing since earlier this afternoon" Deputy Briar told him, handing him a photograph.

 _Another missing teenage girl, great. This night just couldn't get any better._ Lamb frowned, staring at the picture. He'd sent Deputy D'Amato looking into leads for Keith Mars' insane theory that Jake Kane had been involved in landing Logan Echolls in the hospital after he'd been given those photographs of The Blue Moon Yacht sighted near Neptune Harbour. This was one of the kids involved in that prank reported by the Coast Guard earlier, and Veronica Mars was still unaccounted for. For all he knew, some of Logan's classmates, including this girl were the ones responsible for putting the Echolls boy here. Logan had been drinking… he probably crashed the boat himself. Cindy McKenzie could be on another ward for all he knew.

"Fine… issue a search for the girl… check admissions. I'll make an updated statement… give these vultures something else to talk about" Lamb sighed.

"What about Keith Mars request to try and locate Jake Kane's yacht?" Briar asked.

"What about it? It's not our job to make up for his lack of parental supervision. There's a storm out… whatever trouble she's into this time, I'm sure can wait until morning" Lamb shrugged.


	58. Chapter 58

Royal Deluxe – Dangerous.

Alone in the large upstairs bathroom Veronica tried her best to quell the overwhelming panic. There was no window in here, it was an en-suite located just off the master bedroom and even if she had managed to get outside and down a drainpipe of some description, there was absolutely nowhere to run. The thunderstorm outside was violent and she'd seen Dimitri's men rounding up as many of the large decorative church candles as possible into the main areas.

 _Because nothing makes your kidnapping more romantic than mood lighting…_ Veronica grumbled to herself as she assessed the scrapes on her knees. She'd hurt herself during the jump from the Blue Moon super yacht although she hadn't noticed much at the time. Preferring to flee to the short-lived safety of the other side of the main property into the staff quarters, now the adrenaline had given way to cold fear and the painful throbbing from her impact into the freezing water was harder to ignore. At least Logan and the others were out of Jake Kanes for now, she just had to figure a way out of this mess. Or use it as an opportunity to try and talk some sanity back into Lily's father. For all the cases she'd worked on with her dad, this was more **_8mm_** than it was **_Magnum P.I._** and she was completely out of her depth. Wallace was right… she should have gone to her dad with this, but there hadn't been time.

 _God… if they hadn't gotten to Logan when they had…_ She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep, calm restoring breath. She couldn't go down that route right now. She couldn't waste time on what ifs. Not if she wanted to make it out of this. Plenty of time to review the events when her survival was guaranteed. It was clear that the Navy would NOT be breaking down the doors any time soon.

 _Focus Veronica._ Her fingers gripped Logan's letter and she mentally corralled the troops. Mac, Weevil and Dick were evading capture so far if Jake's earlier reaction had been any indication. Weevil knew how to hide from Sheriff Lamb, and she could only hope that Mac remembered enough about how they'd tracked Duncan after his disappearance last year that she could stay ahead of Kane's Security at least until she could contact her dad.

Logan was in hospital according to the news reports that had been streaming under the delightful care of the Neptune Sheriff Department. Lamb hadn't made much in the way of press statements, but at least his heavy handed approach and paranoia of career trouble after Jake's Fake News accusing Logan of the bus crash meant that that he would be keeping Logan right where he could see him… and that was safe from Dimitri's goons.

 _Where was Lily's Ghost now when she REALLY needed help?_

She heard a thump on the door again followed by a deep male voice grumbling something in angry Russian. That was another disadvantage, if she'd been taken by the PCHers, she'd at least have been able to listen to the enemies plans, but she didn't know much more than a few basic Russian greetings which in these circumstances were completely useless. Frowning at the door, she picked up a fresh bar of soap from inside the medicine cabinet and bit down hard enough to leave her teeth impressions before hiding it in the cabinet again.

 _Thank God her dad went for the full dental on their health insurance…_

"Just a minute" Veronica called back as she gathered up her discarded clothes. She looked at the small blood stained tissues and slipped a few of them into her back pocket. She might not make it out of this… but if she didn't she was planning on leaving as much physical evidence of her presence behind as possible. Opening the door she thrust the bundle of clothes into the man's arms as if he was her personal assistant and strode off back towards the living room area quickly before he could react. They'd taken her shoes shortly after they'd found her, and she'd opted not to put on the thick woollen socks she'd been given, so the cold tiles were loud under her small feet as she walked into the room, redressed in the form fitting blue jeans, and small polo t-shirt which she assumed belonged to the seasonal waitressing staff. Feeling the weight of Dimitri's stare as he looked over her update appearance, the freshly washed blond hair she'd left free cascading around her shoulders.

The man who'd been sent to supervise her makeover finally reappeared falling in behind her and taking up position at the doorway, but her focus was centred squarely on his Boss. Jake Kane, grieving father who'd lost his fricking mind she could understand, even Yuri was easy to read, she was simply a job to him. The Powers That Be decreed her hostage, and possible collateral damage in their vendetta against the Echolls family for the death of Lilly Kane, so she was their reluctant guest for now.

Lilly's Godfather Dimitri was a dangerous individual, not just because of his obvious physical prowess that dwarfed not only her, but most of the other men in the room, but because in-between knocking back drinks with his buddy Jake like it was mere water and his paternal moment of cooking her a snack she could see the beast underneath the surface. She could feel it watching her, measuring her reactions, learning her tells… luring her in with offers of food and warm clothing, trying to make her feel safe when she was anything but. He moved around the room near her like a snake, getting her used to his presence, familiar with the danger waiting there. She'd seen snakes behave that way at the reptile house in San Diego Zoo during her school field trip in sophomore year, they'd left the little mice alone for hours, just moving lazily around the glass while the timid little mice finally relaxed and grazed on some food before they struck without warning.

 _Logan's own personal Snake Lubac._

Nila Besterman, Neptune High's own wannabe Crocodile Hunter had explained to the class later that the snakes did this because when the mice were first trapped with the snake, the muscles would seize up, and cortisol would build in the rodents, all that extra adrenaline was possibly spoiling the taste, so by waiting until the very last second, the meat was juicier and tasted that much sweeter.

 _Was that what Dimitri Kumaran was planning?_ Spending several hours trapped by a storm on a private island with the dead body of a teenage girl probably didn't sound much fun, even to these assholes.

"Sit, you will play against me" Dimitri commanded her with a deep voice, before barking an instruction that sounded very much like 'Move' to Yuri then pointed at the seat in front of him where he began to reset the board.

Yuri made some snide remark about Dimitri being careful not to become _Koschei the Deathless_ and the other two body guards sniggered in amusement.

Casting a glance towards Jake, she noticed he was flicking angrily through several folders on his laptop and snapping angrily at someone. Probably Clarence Weidman, if she had to hazard a guess. Something must have happened in the short time she'd been away in the bathroom. Curiously she slid into the seat opposite Dimitri and looked towards the television screen, the volume was down and the subtitles were all in Russian.

 _Typical. Whatever larger Endgame Dimitri Kumaran was playing, it was obvious that in the grand scheme of things, her side had left their little Queen in a horrible position to be taken until she could find a way to put Jake Kane and his toadies into Check._

"You look at me, like I am some kind of evil Pirate… Believe me _Kroshka,_ I am no Blackbeard" he said as he moved a small white pawn to C5, studying the board, Veronica reached for her black knight and moved to F6. If she was going to play, might as well hit hard. Her move caused a slight curve to his lips, seemingly he approved before he quickly countered.

"Guess I'm not going to be left Marooned then…" Veronica quipped.

"This is not really the kind of place to be marooned to die of thirst and heat exhaustion. Believe me, if the time comes for your punishment, we are much more sophisticated in our methods, though do not misbelieve that I am above tying a misbehaving girl to the mast of my Yacht." he warned, reaching for his glass and slumping back as she studied her next defensive position.

"That what you were planning to do with Logan?" she asked, picking up a pawn and moving it quietly.

"No, although Keelhauling was a tempting possibility" Dimitri taunted as his dark eyes looked at her over the rim of his tumbler. One of the drawbacks of being a Neptune Pirate, her athletic coach in junior year had taken to explaining the different kinds of torture that her gymnastics class was not, but explaining the various punishments and torments REAL pirates were subjected to during the golden age of pirates.

Keelhauling involved the offending pirate would be tied to the rope and hauled underwater, beneath the belly of the ship where the sharp barnacles cut like razors making for a very slow and painful death. She wouldn't let her mind go there; she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of flinching.

 _The thought of Logan dying like that… drowning, trapped in the dark cold… it would have been the complete opposite to how Aaron Echolls had tried to burn her alive all those months ago._

"Check" she countered, moving to claim his bishop. He was trying to frighten her, but there was a difference between fear, and strategy.

"Not quite, but it's a start…" he smiled in amusement, moving a rook she hadn't noticed and took her piece. "He will get what he deserves, as will your little friends, who tried to thwart that deliverance, once they have been found, there were consequences to that decision." Dimitri declared as Mac and Dick's pictures ran across the screen along with details of a reward for information on their whereabouts. "I understand why you all risked your lives, the yearning looks and the doe-eyes…" he continued flicking a gaze over to the photographs of her and Logan kissing on the pier together. "Logan Echolls, and your friends will come to us."

 _Don't let him bait you..._

Veronica wanted to call him out, to tell him he'd never find her friends, that her father would never stop looking for her, that he wouldn't get away with this once Logan told his story of how they'd killed Aaron Echolls, and those pictures of the Blue Moon that Weevil had made it to the Media, but playing that hand didn't seem wise, so she just moved her rook into a defensive position to defend her king.

"So what… we just sit here and play board games while it rains then it's back onto the Jolly Roger to collect your prize?" Veronica asked nervously, her heart in her throat as she watched the silent screen as Sheriff Lamb stood in the hospital foyer making some kind of statement about Mac and Dick. Obviously the Kane's had decided to use the Sheriff's department to do most of their legwork now since they'd come up empty for the last few hours.

"Or take you to Golosov Ravine… tell Sheriff Lamb you went to see Baba Yaga…" Alexi joked a little too loudly to his companion, crossing his arms but Veronica didn't understand the reference, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"It is like you're Bermuda Triangle… people go missing there" Sergei offered, quickly closing his mouth when Yuri cut him a warning glare before the power cut out. Leaving them to the soft glow of the fireplace and the candles, while lightening pierced the sky.

"Everyone knows the most dangerous thing back home is a beautiful woman" Yuri scowled, glaring at Veronica like he expected her to morph into a Red Sparrow.

Russians were no strangers to playing spy.

"Unless this is the Russian Sleep Experiments, can you gentlemen go make use of the beds? I require quiet if I am to work." Jake spoke for the first time as he placed his computer down behind them and reached for the plate of food which Sergei had been preparing. Veronica observed quietly as two of the men went down the hall as Yuri instructed before Jake turned back to his computer, connecting his phone to it in much the way that Mac had done with Dick's when they were on the boat. The famous words of the last subject in the urban legend of that sleep experiment began to taunt her, as she looked back into Dimitri's eyes, that beast looking back at her from behind his black eyes. Claiming victory and leaving her king with no place to go.

 _Have you forgotten so easily? We are you. We are the Madness that lurks within all of you, in your deepest animal mind. We are what you hide from in your beds every night. We are what you sedate into silence and paralysis when you tread into that nocturnal haven where we cannot go… so nearly free._

It was only when Dimitri slouched back, complaining of the heat of the fire, rolling up his sleeves showing off his impressive forearms, the muscles were easily as thick as those in her thighs, and reaching for his shirt and opening a few buttons, reveal a few tattoos, including one over his collarbone that immediately caught her attention, her hands instinctively rubbing against the outline of folded paper in her pocket.

Stylized script spelling out LIYBIMAYA.

Russian for My Love… and the pet name used for one Lily's illicit pen pals… the kind of which used to send her naked pictures she'd hide in her air vents.

 _Oh Lily…. You didn't…._

Veronica felt sick as pieces started to fall into place. After her 16th birthday… Lily had spent two months away from Neptune that summer in Italy with her family and some of her father's friends at the Castillo of his business partners. It had been the Summer before she and Duncan had started dating, and their homecoming dance on the beach.. She'd told Veronica she had met someone special during that trip but that they'd called it off before she left for Neptune and that he'd sent her presents and filthy love letters because he didn't like communicating through computers. He was old school that way…

 _Or he was trying to avoid using his email because the girls father he screwed was his best friends underage daughter and he was a tech mogul with his own private army…_

 _Lily wouldn't have… would she? With Her father's college roommate?_

Of course she would. Veronica swallowed against the bile in her throat, trying to temper her reaction. Lily had even screwed her boyfriend's dad… this was exactly the kind of thrill seeking reckless crap she would do.

"We are not the ham-fisted deputy's of your Sheriff's Department, will not underestimate our target" Yuri assured her as he handed his phone to Dimitri who looked back at Veronica with a slow steady grin.

"You should reset the game… perhaps you would feel more comfortable with a White Knight this time…" he suggested throwing the phone onto the board, a video showing her father and Cliff bound in a dark room of some description played out on the screen.

"What is this?" Veronica asked in a trembling voice as hope began to sink into pure terror. Dimitri might have been teasing her with chess, but he'd been playing a much larger game and she wasn't even beginning to see all of it's pieces yet.

 _No one could help her now. They had her father…_

"Incentive" Jake answered from behind her, picking up a glass. Probably gloating to himself he'd finally pulled one over on his old high school Rival for her mothers affections.

"Logan Echolls will come to answer for what he's done…" Dimitri growled angrily, his tone betraying his own vitriol that he couldn't hide from her any longer. He was here to get payback against his teenage Rival.

Had it bothered him much that Lily was with Logan? Veronica barely had time to ponder the question before that deep accent announced her worst suspicions.

"Because you are going to ask him to. Or I am going to kill your father."

(ok... so it's been a while since I updated, there have been a few non-cannon twists in this chapter, what you all think so far?)


	59. Chapter 59

(Matchbox20 - Unwell)

Weevil had gone to find his friend Elec, and some reporter to help track down Keith Mars. It was only 4.43am and yet Mac couldn't believe it had only been yesterday morning that she'd been panicking over her calculus assignment. The rest of the time at the house had flown by in a sickening blur after her face had begun to show up all over the news. This was it... on the road... for who knew how fricking long with her new 'husband' and no choice but avoid contact with her family despite the Fake News splattering her image on all major outlets. The noose was closing around them as the gutter press tracked after them like blood hounds now. By lunch time, she would be subject to a state wide manhunt.

 _Life as she knew it was over..._ and Dick sat there driving humming along to the radio like it didn't phase him at all. What was wrong with him? How was he not losing his mind as well?

 _URGENT APPEAL FOR WITNESSES. WANTED. TEEN PIRATES TURNED FUGITIVE AFTER DATA THEFT OF KANE INDUSTRY SOFTWARE._

Daisy and Weevil had shown up with the campervan as she'd been watching a statement from Lamb and the footage of reporters camped outside her familys house. Then it happened in a whirlwind of cupboards emptied of canned goods like they were trying to outrun the pending Zombie Apocalypse. The mattress from one of the upstairs beds was swapped over with the one in the RV which Weevil had stolen from his uncles scrap yard. Apparently it was home to a cousin of his in the Marines who stayed there when he was home from active duty, which fortunately meant it was kept in serviceable condition. Fueled up and fully stocked with everything to keep them going for a few weeks. Several other items they might need Dick had never thought of, like bed sheets etc had been thrown into a bag before Weevil had given them both a quick run-down of how the solar-powered shower, and electrics generator worked.

 _BREAKING NEWS. UPDATE. TEEN BONNIE AND CLYDE MAY HAVE BEEN TRYING TO AID MURDER SUSPECT ECHOLLS ESCAPE BEFORE BOAT ACCIDENT._

Dick cast a side glance at the petite brunette clutching the laptop in her lap as she chewed nervously on her finger nails looking out the window as they drove through the dark back roads and sped as fast and as far from Neptune as possible. He shifted in his seat, feeling the cold press of the gun he'd found in the safe hidden in the master wardrobe press into his lower back as he drove faster.

 _People really had to come up with better security codes than 1234._

Thankfully the bad weather and Media circus surrounding Aaron Echolls 'suicide' had the Sheriff's department short of boots on the ground and their check on the Sheriff Departments systems of the roadblocks locations before Mac had went off-line meant they had a good idea of where to avoid. If time hadn't been of the essence, he wasn't sure that Daisy Blossom would have let them go alone at all, she'd promised him that he'd never see her coming if he failed Mac.

"I don't like it…" She'd commented to Toni, but in the end, it was decided. For someone so Big Sisterly… there had been something more terrifying in that look on her face than Antonio and Weevil's promise of broken bones if he was anything short of gentlemanly with the short cyber-sleuth. Mac had assured them it would be okay but she wasn't as confident about that as she'd sounded.

 _FURTHER REPORTS SUGGEST CASABLANCAS MAY HAVE A LINK TO BOTH KANE AND NEPTUNE HIGH BUS CRASH MURDERS._

Checking his side mirrors, he was still on red alert. Somehow all this James Bond shit looked so much more fun in the movies... He'd written a cheque to replace the stuff they'd taken from the house, while Daisy and Toni had split up in different directions to book into a few no CCTV available motel rooms using his credit cards, and Mac's name, anything to keep the Neptune Police Department on their toes.

His knuckles gripped the steering wheel tighter, real wife or not… Cindy Mackenzie was now his priority, as much as it grated on him to be leaving town and not calling his family lawyer to make sure Beeves and Logan was going to be okay, he knew that Kendall Casablancas, as mercenary as she was, knew the best ticket to her staying in the cushy lifestyle she'd grown used to, meant she'd look out for her Step-Son/Bank Account. Unlike his father, who had chosen to run… Dick was only getting out of dodge because he couldn't help Logan if he ended up in a cell right next to him, which a lot of folks would be helping to do in the next few hours when the world woke up to his face all over the news.

Now was not the time to lose it. they had to regroup... plan. let his sexy lil nerd do her thing and save their asses.

"Don't look so upset, sex is most definitely still on the menu" he grinned as he shifted back into a more comfortable position, finally breathing now they'd passed the last road marker Toni had mentioned. It wouldn't be long now until they made it to their final destination.

Glancing around the RV, it was cool in a compact kind of way. It looked as nice as the inside of the Casablancas poolside guest house. Horrified she almost dropped the laptop from her hands as she turned wide eyed and looked at him. he shrugged. If acting like a pig could keep her distracted and avoid a total catatonic meltdown, then he'd do anything to help break the tension. Frowning she stared open mouthed at him in disbelief, her grey eyes narrowing.

"Are you freaking kidding me? Does NOTHING kill your libido?" Mac demanded. "The Sheriffs Department have Deputys tearing apart my room, my little brother is probably terrified… and my parents think I'm on the run with a mass murderer… Lamb has basically told the world that I'm some kind of Cyber Terrorist… and we meanwhile the world doesn't know that we have ACTUAL Media Controlling International Terrorists trying to find us… oh yeah and if that's not insane enough already….there's there little matter of what either of us are going to tell your brother because thanks to you we are MARRIED!" she exclaimed unbuckling from her seat and going to sit down at the nearby table.

"Unfortunately, baby… we got a few more hours to endure before I get to enjoy you, the way I want you" he soothed sinfully. "I wont let you die a virgin" he winked.

Dick always believed he knew his place in the world. He wasn't some biker clubs enforcer, he couldn't solve his problems with fists and bullets, and he wasn't exactly one for words and feelings. His bank account couldn't solve this. Not when he was going up against Jake Kane. He felt as useless as the guy who stood in the movies asking all the smart guys what they were gonna do next. He hated feeling surplus to requirements. He didn't have a gang behind him to tear up the streets tracking the Russian's movements like Weevil, or Veronica's tech gadgets and super spy instincts, or Mac's hacker skills like she was Anonymous. All he had to offer was his 'let's keep it casual, life is a party' self… and he was doubting that was going to be much use to anyone. The only thing he had to offer her was his body between her and on-coming danger…

 _And if he had his way… Cindy MacKenzie was going to be using his body a LOT._

Right now the two of them had no place else to go except the off-season Keystone Summer Camp grounds. Soon he would have no choice but to confront the feelings the thought of her dating his brother brought up…and the feelings he didn't have for Madison Sinclair. Stifling a groan he watched as she stood bent over taking things out of the bag.

 _Mine…_

Hell, he didn't even have a real ring on his finger but he'd be damned if Cindy MacKenzie thought this wasn't something more substantial than just him goofing around. When this was all over, there's no way he was gonna let her walk back into his brothers arms. Those pouty lips had claimed him the second he'd kissed her. She could sit there, pretending she'd toughened up, trying to take refuge in her lines of code, but this chemistry between them had begun to weave it's spell over her too, and as dire as things were. He just had this shift inside him that told him it was all gonna work out. He watched her in the rear-view as Mac began to unpack some of the stuff and put them into the cupboards, her movements predictably temperamental as she banged the drawers shut in frustration, and slamming the tins onto the table top.

"Awww come on Bunny… don't be so rough… that's where I'm planning on eating you tomorrow for breakfast" he teased and watched her pause in shock.

"Is that all you think about?" she asked as his eyes darkened and he laughed in amusement, refusing to answer, glad he was facing the road and she'd stormed off into the bedroom and slid closed the partition. Glad she couldn't see the uncomfortable bulge in his pants, the muscles flexed in his jaw as he turned the radio station over. Eager to hear anything but the repeated news bulletins regarding the nights events. Silently he willed Logan to hold on, that hopefully when they settled, hooked up to the internet using one of those several laptop and mobile internet mi-fi devices Weevil had brought from the PCH stolen stash and his lil Bunny had some time proper sleep, and a decent meal, she'd break through that Firewall or whatever then they could Snowden the crap out of Kane Industries, and clear their names. He was still struggling to remember the details on his dads last no return address postcard, maybe he'd have some ideas on how to evade the authorities or some contacts they could use.

 _Skipping the country seemed to have worked out well in keeping Richard Casablancas Senior out of harms way…. Maybe he could Satellite-Phone his dad to send a helicopter?_

Scrubbing a hand down his face, he hoped that Mac was using this time to go and get some sleep. 4:56am.

 _Brave New World…_

 _(I must say, occasionally the characters I'm writing take on a little life of their own and surprise me. Gotta say, Dick Casablancas is a lot more complex a character than I'd initially gave him credit for. I think the show probably didn't let us get too much into his hidden depths, but there's as much a compelling a character there for me as even Logan Echolls himself)_


	60. Chapter 60

_Grandson - Blood/Water_

 _God have mercy this night couldn't get any worse._ Weevil Navarro swore angrily under his breath as Elec finished filling in him on what went down at the Sheriffs Department with Keith Mars and Sheriff Lamb.

"Valio verga. Jose got us those pictures from the warehouse district down by the shipping harbour of Kane's super yacht. He had the evidence from Van Lowe right there! I tried to give a statement about that call Güera made, I would have given him the phone as proof, but Pinche Guey threatened to throw my ass in lock up for even being there in the first place" Elec cursed as he tossed Weevil his phone to see the call log. Logan Echolls was under the memorable care of the Sheriffs Department, so he didn't have to worry about whoever those goons getting to him anytime soon, but it wouldn't stop them from trying to shake down some of his guys to get information about where Mac and Dick had fled off to.

The joys of being on the receiving end of Neptunes Criminal Element. His guys weren't going to let this go, they avoided trouble with the larger Cartels and Mafia types because he'd always preached that OUT and Avoidance was the smarter play. That kind of business came with a high body count, and he didn't plan on losing anymore of his guys but Thumper and a few of the others had been complaining about the lack of Mosca under the current leadership.

 _No way that bastard wouldn't be twisting it for his advantage. Uneasy lies the head that wears the Crown._

"And no word from Cliff either?" Weevil asked as he frowned at the display, sure enough. There hadn't been any incoming calls from Keith Mars or Cliff, despite a long list of outgoing attempts to contact any of them.

There were several from other PCHers though, and that wasn't good. Elec shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. He had been waiting for former Sheriff Mars to get back from the impound lot with his GPS tracer out of Veronica's car so they could get searching for the teen detective without relying on the dedicated Neptune Police Department, but he'd dropped off the grid about 2 hours ago, and there's no way he wouldn't have come back to check in with him since Elec was the last confirmed means of communication with his daughter.

 _Unlike most of the deadbeat fathers in Neptune. Keith Mars put the Dependable And Dedicated in DAD._

"I don't like it" Elec sighed, echoing Weevils own thoughts. There had been no mention of the missing Veronica Mars on the news at all. That decision had come from on-high, because there's no way the Mayor's office wanted International Press Coverage of a missing pretty blonde teenage girl in Neptune.

 _Bad for tourism. They'd rather focus on Fake News spreading lies about two teenagers who currently needed their protection._

He'd just sent Mac and Dick speeding down the highway out past the Road Hog under the cover of the darkness he knew so well before he'd met his fellow PCHer, Elec at one of their off-road waystations as the storm continued to rage around them. Scrubbing a hand down his face, Weevil tried to quell the worrisome thought that something else was going on with Keith Mars. Like they'd decided to bypass going after his guys and went straight after her dad.

"We can't wait. gotta get the word out somehow. Jake Kane had people murder Aaron Echolls, they kidnapped Logan and they could have Veronica, at the very least they were the last people to see her alive" Weevil growled handing the phone back to his friend.

"Letty went with Van Lowe to get his back up files from his office… that was at least an hour ago" Elec said, mentioning the Reporter who was looking for him to get an exclusive interview.

"Okay, so we know where to start, his office is on the way to the Sheriffs department impound lot. We got that video on Deputy Briar and Maria, we can use it as leverage" Weevil replied as he reached for the truck door and climbed inside, referring to the tape they had of Deputy Briar getting it together with Shiv's 17 year old cousin at a beach party a few months back. They could use it to force him to take their statement, to let them check out if Keith Mars had gotten to the equipment in Veronica's car or to force the reluctant Deputy to Whistleblow the issue over Sheriff Lambs head and call San Diego police department.

The drive into Neptune didn't take long, but with each passing traffic light, a sense of foreboding filled the silence between them. Silently both of the teens left the car, and climbed the steps into the office block where Van Lowe had set up shop. The broken door and scattered papers in the hallway immediately put them on alert, the smell of blood and gun powder told Elec what they were going to find before they even made it past the reception, an elderly woman, most likely Van Lowe's mother, lay on the floor face down, half of her hair coated in blood. She had been shot at point blank range. Barely had time to try and duck for cover before she was gunned down.

Gang Life had meant they'd seen some pretty unsavoury things, but the sight further into the office of Vinnie who'd fallen behind a hard metal cabinet and Letty Hernandez body crouched for cover in the corner made Weevil fight to keep from throwing up.

 _There had been no mercy shown here, and by the looks of the raided files, empty safe and trashed computer equipment, whatever they'd come here to find was long gone._

"Whoever did this has cleared out" Elec croaked as he tried to choke down the urge to hurl, picking up the gun that Van Lowe had been holding in his hand. The bitter taste of gunpowder, pepperspray and blood was heavy in the air. They'd put up a fight, but as Weevil checked Lettys pulse, there was nothing could have been done for either of them. They were beyond the help of the living.

"God our Father, Your power brings us to birth, Your providence guides our lives, and by Your command we return to dust" Elec muttered quietly as he closed her eyes. This was his fault, he'd gotten Letty involved, and the weight of it sat in his gut like a heavy stone. Reaching into his pocket he tossed Weevil his truck keys. "Vaya hermano. You were never here…."

"Joder que Vamos juntos." Weevil disagreed.

"Have to call this in if it aint already… and if someone doesn't make sure the Sheriff and McCormack is okay, I'll have no public defender. Sabes que tengo razón. Cuento con usted. Culo rubio caliente insistes en que solo es un amigo" Elec sighed firmly, and Weevil nodded as he pocketed the phone before leaving quickly, trying not to disturb the scene too much. Slamming the truck door angrily, he erupted into a series of curses, smacking the wheel with the heel of his palms. Sucking in sanity restoring deep breaths while he tried to mentally think like Veronica. The Sherlock Holmes shit wasn't exactly his strength, and he didn't want to entertain the idea that not only had he abandoned the petite blonde on that boat with Jake Kane and those Russian thugs, he couldn't guarantee she'd have anything to come back home to. Officer Briar swore that he hadn't seen Keith or Cliff tonight, despite McCormack's familiar rust bucket being parked less than a block away, true enough Veronica's bag was still there. He smashed in the back window and assured himself she wouldn't taser his ass when she got it back considering that he was doing it for her, Weevil thought as he pulled it out of the small brown bag.

 _He could only hope that she'd be around to taser his ass._

He wasn't a tech expert, Weevil wouldn't know what to do with that GPS equipment even if got hold of it and his cyber-sleuth contact was running for her life. His reporter was dead and the evidence was gone… He pulled up outside the Neptune Memorial Hospital and debated calling the PCHers, but his allies in the gang were dwindling every second, and he couldn't go to Lamb, he'd just arrest him right alongside Elec.

 _Veronica had to make it home safe, or he was failing Lily._

He only had one move… there was no time to waste now... he couldn't wait for Daisy and there was no one other than Elec in his gang he trusted, or wanted to put at risk... he had a plan... and it was INSANE but it's the only thing he could think of to get the World's attention where it needed to be. A call to his contact at the Neptune Grand Hotel had confirmed everything he needed was still here. Storming down the corridors, and up the back staircase, he frowned as he passed the maternity ward, into Meg Manning's room, before he turned and headed towards the ICU.

Slipping into the nursing locker rooms, he pried open a few and gathered what he needed, covering his tattooed body in a white lab coat, and grabbed a clipboard in one hand, and carried a large duffle bag in the other, he made his way past the myriad of media and public shouting questions at the podium where Sheriff Lamb was doing his best to answer their questions. Spying Logan's private room, guarded by a lone Deputy Ryan's as the other helped several nursing staff tryin and keep the crowd back, he pulled the taser out of his pocket and took the distracted Deputy by surprise, giving him everything it had in the neck before he dragged him into the room and barricading the door.

"What the HELL?" Duncan Kane demanded before he stood up, his mind processing the scene before him as he watched Weevil reaching for the Deputys cuffs and gun. His brows furrowed in recognition, his mouth parted in a multitude of questions.

"Cuff him" Weevil demanded, pointing the gun at Duncan as he tossed him the metal rings.

"No…. Logan had nothing to do with Felix's death… this is crazy…" Duncan said, shaking his head, standing protectively in front of his unconscious friend. Besides, Logan was already cuffed to the bedrails. NO WAY was he going to stand aside and let the PCHers finish what they started.

"What?" he asked in confusion before he shook his head and kicked a foot towards the deputy. "No HIM… HIM…"

"What this about?" Duncan demanded as he crouched down towards unconscious man, those blue eyes, so much like Lilys glaring back up at him.

Surely someone would notice the commotion soon. Should he shout for someone?

 _He just had to stall for time…_

"Veronica. You are going to call whoever it is you need to call… You are going to tell them to give her back to me or he loses BOTH of his children" Weevil cursed angrily, firing a warning shot at the tough looking metal cabinet in the corner. "I'll give you back to him piece by piece. DONUT"

 _That should attract Lambs attention…_ he grimaced as several screams and scurrying came from the other side of the door.

"Wait… what… why…..?" Duncan asked, his mind reeling as he cast a glance at Logan.  
 _He wasn't here for Logan?_

"¿Lo quieres en español?" Weevil retorted sarcastically. "You are my reverse Hostage… and the worlds going to know the HELL of a night I've had."


	61. Chapter 61

(Jaymes Young - I'll be Good)

Duncan Kane blinked several times and then stared at the Hispanic teen in bewilderment. His gaze shifting between the PCH Club gang leader and Logan's bed.

He wasn't here to hurt Logan?

He was here to take _him_ hostage?

"I don't understand" Duncan said calmly as Weevil reached for the radio on the unconscious deputy's belt and ordered Lamb to stay away from the room or he was going to unload the full clip into the Kane boys chest. No doubt the threat was an alien concept to the billionaire heir, guys like Kane were used to having the world bow down with a finger snap. Weevil was sure between Duncan's families private security and privileged upbringing, he would have no any inkling that this kind of situation could ever happen to someone like him.

Weevil remembered the times that he'd spoken to Lily about her parents attitudes between her and her brother. They'd let her murder go unsolved for almost two years because they wanted to protect golden balls here. It wasn't really a surprise that the Kane boy couldn't process this, and he hated him all the more for it.

 _The Heir and the Spare and yet…. This was the exact reason taking Duncan hostage was the only thing that could think of to get Kane's attention. With all the press out there… and their Logan Echolls Fake News, and attempts at tracking down Mac and Dick… the murder of Vinnie Van Lowe and Letty Hernandez… there's no way they didn't have someone streaming the news feeds._

 _Kane would see this soon enough. Then he'd negotiate giving Veronica back to him._

"You don't have to… I'm not sure I got it all pieced together myself" Weevil sighed as he gave a concerned look over the restrained Echolls. Funny how a few hours on the run together from a common enemy could bury a feud real quick. After everything going down tonight, and the feedback he'd heard from Jose and Matteo over Thumpers power play, he was starting to go over all the info he'd been given about that night on the bridge.

Could that witness that came forward a few weeks ago have been in the Kane's pocket? Duncan was unlikely to know, his parents kept a lot from him, their pending hearing over the Abel Koontz pay off and interfering in their daughters murder investigation was proof enough of that.

Veronica believed Logan had nothing to do with it… and Logan had swore until he was blue in the face that he'd been innocent of killing his friend. The only person pointing the finger at Echolls… was Thumper, and he was losing credibility with every Game of Thrones level Lord Baelish shit he was pulling.

"You aren't making any sense…" Duncan complained as he frowned when Weevil handed him the keys to Logan's cuffs.

**This is Sheriff Lamb of Neptune's Sheriff Department… Open this door**

Weevil looked down at the radio in his hand and looked through the large window where the two remaining Deputy Officer White and D'Amato were standing looking at the Sheriff for direction. There were several news crews outside watching the whole thing, and there were nurses and medical staff moving the patients in the beds from the crossfire section of the ward. Grimacing, Weevil cursed himself for not thinking about the other patients on this hospital floor, but there was no way out of this now.

"So much for promising mi Abuela I'd graduate" Weevil replied over the radio with a shrug.

**Doesn't have to go down like this Eli… you are a smart kid… few years in a cell… I'm sure you could get yourself a nice job manning a carwash someplace… maybe get yourself a nice Border Hopper _puta_ all of your own, use that Pepperbelly to hammer out a few kids…** Lamb sneered quietly into the radio and Leo visibly stiffened at the low racist taunts. **What do you say Hombre? Just let us do our jobs… Echolls is in custody now** Lamb glared at Weevil through the window, trying to bait him as his mouth relaxed into a faint curve.

"Look, if you are done playing the idiot small town Sheriff out there… now would be a good time to call up a SWAT Team… Get a negotiator down here, then we can discuss terms. Until then, any attempts to come breach this room, will result in the death of Neptune's favorite fathers son, and only surviving kid…" Weevil retorted calmly. Last thing he needed Lamb to figure out was that he'd never actually pull the trigger on Lily's brother.

He wasn't stupid enough to think that in any Universe that he could _Dirty Dancing_ his way into the ill-fated socialites world, that he'd come over for dinner on Sundays to meet her parents and kick around a ball with her brother, share a beer in their garden with her old man. Celeste Kanes reaction to finding out about his relationship with her daughter had made that perfectly clear. But he'd loved Lily Kane, and Duncan was the only piece of her left in his life.

The threat seemed to do the trick, Lamb was scrubbing a hand down his face and listening to whatever Deputy Leo D'Amato was saying insistently in his ear, before he cast a nervous glance over at the cameras capturing the whole thing, even if they were currently too far away to pick up much of what was being said.

**What are your demands?** Lamb asked, glaring back towards the window.

"A Pony… a white one.. and seventy-six Burritos from Taco Bell to be delivered to C-Block out at San Quentin… $2 million dollars in unmarked bills and a helicopter on the roof to take me to wherever I wanna go… and a strip-tease from Deputy White…. So he's gonna need some size 10 heels, some fishnet tights and the outfit from the Rocky Horror Picture show…" Weevil retorted sardonically, he didn't really want anything but Kane on the phone confirming that Veronica was alive and on her way back to Neptune soon, until then, he had to stall for time.

**You are being ridiculous** the Sheriff growled, his usual smug expression was wiped clean as he fought back the obvious rage staining his face red.

"And for that and further contact from you has to be done in a Princess Leia outfit or I'm gonna shoot his knee cap…" Weevil sighed, lower the gun to hint at Duncan's leg. Silently Lamb cursed, and then nodded at Deputy Leo to go and make a start on the list while they waited for the specialist from San Diego police department to get there.

**It's going to be about twenty minutes before we can get the Negotiator here** Lamb said, his tone was far from pleased and a rebellious part of Weevil was enjoying the devilment of seeing the smug bastard in his own little media snare.

"It's okay… we can wait" Weevil said, as he pointed at an empty chair to Duncan before he slumped back dramatically on the chair adjacent to Logan, facing the window. Lamb would be getting distracted soon enough after Elec called in that crime scene over at Van Lowes.

 _Neptune had gone to Hell in handbasket tonight._

"You really have to start explaining what's going on… the news said…" Duncan told him as he sat down opposite him, noting the worried expression on the other teens face as he looked at Logan. He was having a hard time getting this dramatic shift in allegiances to make sense, Logan was being blamed for the bus crash and for his sisters murder.

Last Duncan checked… the two ex-boyfriends had been trying to tear each other apart a few months ago because Weevil had thought Logan had killed Lily, he'd burned down his house because he'd thought him responsible for Felix's murder… now he was sitting at his bedside?

"It's all bullshit… Logan had nothing to do with it. Aaron Echolls killed your sister… why else would he try to kill Veronica and her dad?" Weevil told him coldly.

"Aaron left a confession… he'd said…" Duncan countered.

"Aaron LIED. That's what bastards like him do… Echolls had nothing to do with the crash, and he didn't kill Curly Moran, because the night he died, **I** gave Moran a beating outside the Road Hog before someone knocked him over that cliff. Echolls never left his house that night…"

He'd been having that Life is Short party.

"My guys had nothing to do with this…" Weevil insisted, pointing at the bruising on Logan's face. "Your father had Logan abducted, and if we hadn't gotten to him on time, Logan's next stop would be the MORGUE in this hospital…"

"Wait… what?" Duncan asked incredulously, Veronica had come to see him… to find Logan.

 _Why hadn't she said anything? Meg… the baby… of course she wouldn't have said anything. She was in shock at finding out about the pregnancy… and he'd been angry with her about their break up._

"That's what Veronica was trying to figure out earlier… your dad tried to kill your roommate tonight because he believed Aaron's lies…" the biker reasoned, his dark eyes solemn and heavy with truth. He believed what he was saying.

 _Would his father really be that ruthless?_

"He's been ignoring my calls all night…" Duncan admitted, showing him the phone. He'd been trying to talk to him about finding out about Meg and the baby.. then after Aaron Echolls 'suicide' hitting the news and Logan ending up in hospital.

"Yeah.. he's been busy…" Weevil growled nodding towards the unconscious man in the bed and over at the large tv screen where Mac and Dick's faces were streaming all over the news.

"Are you saying they had something to do with…?" Duncan demanded.

"Jesus Christ…. You really ARE a Donut… This is nothing to do with Extortion!" Weevil exclaimed.

"Meg is having my kid! If he had anything to do with that crash…" Duncan countered.

Weevil wasn't sure how that all fit in exactly… the media reports about the Echolls connection could just as easily mean Aaron Echolls had been working from behind bars to take out the witnesses?

"VERONICA SAVED LOGAN FROM YOUR DAD AND THOSE RUBLE HEADS AND NOW SHE'S IN DANGER. Do you honestly think she would have done that if you thought he'd anything to do with what went down? She'd been on that bus too!" he snapped, remembering the sight of the bus sinking over the edge into the water, and the shock he'd felt from Veronica when the petite sleuth had gripped him tighter when they'd rode along on his bike moments behind.

"What was he doing with Russians?" he asked.

"Helping Trump rig the next election?" Weevil retorted sarcastically as he got up from his seat and went to peer out the window. "He dragged Logan off on some yacht, and then Veronica dragged Me, Mac and Dick off all Pirates of the Carribean to rescue him… only we got separated. Now they are on the run, Logan is here, and last I know of Veronica's still back running from Drago and Daddy Kane unless they found her and decided to toss her overboard."

 _Veronica is in danger… we got separated… still back there running from Drago and Daddy Kane…_

The words ricocheted around his brain before they began to settle, his mind half rejecting the idea, before Duncan looked at the lengths Weevil was going to… about how everything on the news just didn't add up to the Logan that he knew. He wasn't an angel… but his friend was a good man. He couldn't have grieved Lily the way he had, if he'd been the jackass who had killed her.

 _Russians…. It could only be Uncle Dimitri… his mother had mentioned he was visiting this month…_

 _Glancing at the injurys on Logan, he could almost imagine how it had went down._

"Last you knew of?" Duncan asked, but his voice was barely a thread of sound as the idea of his ex-girlfriend being in life-threatening trouble threatened to explode out of him in a violent scream. He'd been watching the interplay between the girl he loved and his best friend for months, but he hadn't been ready to step aside, not after Logan's stupidity had given him a chance to reclaim what he'd been stupid enough to throw away. He'd known it was foolish, Veronica didn't love him. Not in the elemental, visceral way she craved Logan, and it had driven him crazy with jealousy. He'd avoided reaching out to Logan last summer because of it.

"She had my phone, got a call out a few hours ago… but no one has heard from her since.. this is the only way I know your dad might listen…" Weevil answered, a soft plea in his voice.

 _He was just so damn tired… he hadn't even mentioned that Keith Mars was missing, or that there had been fatalities tonight… and if he Lamb called his bluff, he could end up another digital on some police shooting statistic._

He'd joked about seeing the devil in the mirror most mornings when he put on his leather jacket... but Lucifer wore a designer suit, and didn't care about little pawns like himm. He'd no power here... and the blood on his hands already couldnt be washed clean. He couldn't allow a man like Sheriff Mars to fall on his watch, couldn't fail Veronica, the only girl who'd truely had his back to not make it home..

Duncan knew if his dad was doing something illegal then he wouldn't answer his calls. He'd try and keep him as far from it as possible. "I could try the head of Kane security… ask him get a message to my dad?" he suggested.

"Insist on it" Weevil ordered as he turned his attention to the Deputy on the floor just starting to come round. Every moment they wasted, Veronica was off alone somewhere playing Devils Pond. He wanted to believe that Duncan would help him… but he was still the jilted ex-boyfriend and blood tended to stick together regardless of the truth.

(Dont worry about translations, they aren't much more than unimportant dialogue between characters like "Shut your mouth" that has no real impact on the overall plot)


	62. Chapter 62

Meiko - Bad Things

"This isn't going to end well" Mac said, her voice trembling as she listened to the latest broadcast about a terror attack/hostage situation involving a PCH gang member in Neptune Hospital where Logan Echolls was being kept. There was the usual speculation Vigilante Justice and comments about the Felix Toomes case history but they both knew that there was more to this story, and she almost sent Weevil a message using her burner phone to find out what was happening until Dick had taken it from her, and insisted that they be smart.

"Can it be traced?" he demanded, putting it in his back pocket and folded his arms over his broad chest. He could feel her eyes on him, but he didn't give away his response.

 _Show me yours, I showed you mine..._

Dick Casablancas was telling **_her_** to be smarter…

"This is Black Mirror… I'm in Dimension 404… what the HELL kind of Wizard of Oz, back of the Narnia wardrobe, upside down Alice tea party, Labyrinth world am I'm in?" she exclaimed slumping down on her seat at the table. They'd gotten to their destination not so long ago, and she'd woken to the news that SWAT teams and FBI hostage negotiators were scrambling to Neptune.

 _What kind of Jigsaw Horror Movie had they gotten involved in?_

Her slim shoulders began to shake as she stifled a sob and she ran a hand through her dark brown hair, there were several bottles of different coloured dyes for her to change up her look now that they were here. She should probably think about cutting it a bit shorter to… but all those steps felt like defeat, like accepting that this was her life now… on the run, with the list of people who knew the truth dwindling shorter and shorter.

"How are you so calm right now? Are you even HUMAN?" she asked. She felt ready to cave in on herself and he was barely reacting. "How are you not terrified?"

"What good would that do?" he shrugged, sitting down in the small booth beside her, and making her shuffle further in.

"I don't know…" she admitted, those tear filled grey eyes looking at his sudden nearness. "I can't fix this…"

"Well it's not just you… We got Weevil, his gang buddies, the hot angry chick, Grandpa Toni, Logan will wake up soon, and we have Daddy Mars…. That guys like John Wick and Veronica is like his puppy, so I'm not worried... this is gonna work out okay" he quipped as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap. "Look at me Bunny. I'm gonna call my dad's lawyer soon, the Worlds watching everything, Weevil has got their attention, and when Lamb takes him in, they are going to have to ask him questions. That McCormack dude will help him… it's all going to work out" he soothed his blue eyes earnest, his unwavering faith in everything he was telling her. "I told you I'll take care of you.." he breathed against her ear and the sincerity of that promise sent her heart a flutter, she bit her lip as his thumb caressed her cheek. The heat of his body so close, she wanted to crawl closer onto his lap and demand more.

"W-why do you call me that?" she asked quietly, trying to shake the thought of tasting his lips from her mind.

"Call you what?" he blinked, his eyes darkening as his gaze raked over her face and she felt her cheeks heating.

 _Damn her pale skin…_

"Bunny…" she murmered, breaking eye contact, that grey gaze shying a way from his.

"Because when you are around me, that's exactly what you remind me of… you get this big wide-eyed, tapped in the headlights look staring at me... frozen… like you are just standing there waiting for me to come over and strip you bare, peel you out of your good girl panties and have my way with you" he swallowed in a hoarse voice.

"I—I don't…" she protested embarassed as she tried to climb out of the booth, but his muscular thighs had her pinned between him and the table.

"Oh baby… you do… and I can't help but think about carrying you off to my bed every damn second you are in my house…" he answered as his hands reached up her back and he halted her escape, making her look at him. "I've wanted you since sophomore year." He told her quietly, cupping her face as the words fractured her soul. The blood pounding in her ears like a warning drum, he looked like he was going to kiss her again, that hot brooding gaze eating her up.

"Stop playing with me… it's horrid… it's beyond cruel" she scolded him. He was Dick Casablancas… and he only wanted her because she was another warm body. Armed with his Charm-laced ego, he'd slept with half the girls at their school!

His mouth was hovering too close as he regarded her through narrowed eyes.

"I'm not playing… I want you in ways I can't even describe…" he told her firmly, his heart hammering wildly in his chest. Of course he was scared, he was worried as all hell.

He'd driven them all the way here as the sun had glinted over the treeline and set up at the deserted summer camp site while she'd slept. Pacing the woods around their perimeter to make sure they were safe because he couldn't trust himself to stay away from the sexy girl sleeping softly in that bed that whispered to him like a carnal invitation. His gaze strayed to the snug fit of her shirt over her breasts and he lifted his eyes to hers again.

 _Goddamn..._

How could she think that those curves weren't causing his body to ache with a desire so strong he was losing his sanity?

The hunger she saw there made her feel like a tangle of nerves and his lips curved into a boyish look of satisfaction.

"Damn you are even cuter when you are flustered…" he breathed, his fingers weaving up the nape of her neck and into her hair causing a riot of shivers to zip down her back. He stopped mere millimetres from her mouth and held those grey eyes captive with his. "Say you don't want it…and I'll stop…" he ordered, bracing himself for her to chicken out and slap him up the side of the head.

"You are so cocky…" she whispered in a ridiculously weak protest. The air in the room around them grew charged and she tried to remember all the reasons why she should be stopping him, why she should be scrambling off his lap and barricading herself in her room, or taking her chances fleeing through the woods to live off of berries and hunting squirrels. Sex for boys like Dick was merely recreational… it's why she'd always avoided being around him and Logan but it had been so long since she'd had someone _look_ at her like that… like they just ** _needed_** to touch her… were ** _starving_** without kissing her, couldn't live not moulding her body with their greedy fingers or having her mouth on theirs.

 _She wanted to feel wanted... craved..._

The constant rejection from Cassidy when his mood would flip so cold had left her feeling less desirable, like less of a woman, and so over the last few months, she had resigned herself to ignoring her wants, to putting them to sleep, but in his brothers arms… every piece of her felt alive… felt hungry… she wanted this… needed this..

 _Needed him..._

The glint of awareness in his eyes had him huffing deep several breaths. "That wasn't a no"

Then he claimed her pouty lips with his and devoured her with undisputed authority as her disastrously receptive body let out a soft moan and her mouth opened, allowing his tongue to part her lips and taste her, dizzying, drugging explorations that had her fingers gripping his shirt and he almost growled as he lifted her to straddle his lap, pulling her against the hard evidence of his desire there. Her worry dissolved in a puddle of want, her hips grinding against him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Fuck… you are killing me" he groaned and looped his hands and forearms under her knees, hauling her upwards and planting her ass on the table. Her eyes widened and she gave him a puzzled expression.

Then she blushed when she remembered his earlier flirtation about eating her for breakfast right here.

This need for her was… elemental… it was gravity.. atoms… he couldn't explain it. He just knew that they belonged to each other and he was just determined not to fuck this up. She chewed on her lip and gave him a worried look, like she was insecure.

"I've tried so hard to resist you…" she breathed bending forwards and gripping the bottom of her t-shirt and pulling it over her head to reveal the perfect mound of her pert breasts and her smooth skin. "But I can't…" His irises flared and she felt a pleasant him zip through her veins as he practically salivated at the naked flesh she was offering him.

"I want… a lifetime of firsts with you" he whispered tugging her closer and pulling her white cotton bra aside to capture one pink hard nipple into his mouth and she gasped. Looking down at him as he suckled on her like he was greedy. Dick watched her staring at him, her thirsty eyes just drinking him in. Those kiss stung lips slightly open. That mouth was like the conduit to a nuclear reactor and he wanted to keep kissing every inch of her glorious body until neither of them could think. She wasn't close enough… or undressed enough and he knew she was as hungry for him in return, that gentle roll of her hips against his throbbing shaft had almost done him in.

He stood wordlessly and watched her eyes follow his every movement as he tugged off his own shirt and tossed it aside, and like Pavlovs dog, the sight of his impressive abs made her body flush with desire.

 _One look at him shirtless, and most girls were a goner…_

"It's like you have ab muscles I didn't even know existed" she shivered. This short brunette was ripping through his life like a tornado, if he looked up the word Nerd, he'd find her picture right next to it… but no one else had ever twisted him into such desperate knots like this.

 _No one else made him consider violating the Bro Code... he didn't do things like this.._

If she wanted to stop… he was pretty sure he'd get on his knees and beg her for mercy. He leaned forward, pressing his body between her thighs and leaning his hands at her sides on the table. Absently she let her hand travel up his forearm and over the muscles bunching in his back. His body trembled and she was sure she felt goose flesh beneath her fingers… she affected him too. The thought thrilled and scared her at the same time.

 _Cassidy never let her touch him like this._

Their connection was desperate and intense, and she was certain that if these extraordinary circumstances hadn't been what they were… they wouldn't be doing this.

"Say you want it…" he commanded, his blue eyes growing stormy.

"Huh?" she asked.

"I'm not going to just take you… tell me you want me to carry your sweet lil ass into that bedroom. Have you spread your legs for me and bury myself inside you until those tight wet little muscles clamp down on me, claim me and hold me deep inside you until we don't know where I end and you begin.." he ground out, the demand was almost feral, his body tense with rigid control as he tried to keep from tossing her over his shoulder and taking her there. His hands had turned to fists, resting his arms as he waited on her answer.

She knew what he wanted… he wanted her to make the choice, and to know that she was doing it freely. He wouldn't be blamed for any fall out if she came to her senses later and regretted what they were about to do.

Leaning forwards she brush a tender kiss along his jaw, the muscles bunching under her touch, and kissed along the strong column of his throat, taking a deep breath and answered confidently and without hesitation.

"I want it, Dick"


	63. Chapter 63

Lay Lady Lay by Magnet

"Alright" Dick nodded.

Staring at the wanton woman in his arms perched on the table top, the heat of her body pressing against his thick, throbbing shaft. Shirtless, in nothing but butt-hugging dark jeans and her white cotton bra tugged over at one side revealing that tempting pink hardened nipple. He flattened his hands out on the wooden table top at her sides and ran his blue eyes over her in appraisal.

Cindy MacKenzie… His little brothers girlfriend, and the unattainable short brunette who'd tempted is dreams for the last few months since that afternoon he'd seen her wearing that pale green and blue striped bikini in his backyard during one of her hang-out dates with Beaver. He'd never imagined ever standing a chance with a girl like her… at least maybe not until College… maybe that was why he'd teased and heckled her so much. Sparring with her in class and making stupid jokes, going out of his way to be a jackass… anything to get her to notice him.

 _Holy Hell… A Smash Pass…_

From this girl that wanted him to carry her into the bedroom of their getaway RV and thrust himself deep inside her.

The bookish girls he secretly lusted after were always too smart to get involved with a dumb jock like him. Give him a woman who could twist her tongue around big words and he was a goner… but ironically they usually expected something more, and the few times freshmen year he'd tried dating them, the interest died off after they figured out he wasn't much more than a large bank account and a pretty face.

He didn't suffer the same kind of heartless rejection when he stuck to cheerleader and drama-club types.

"Tell me you want me" he commanded, resting his forehead against hers. Those blue eyes made her feel like she could drown in them, and heat rushed to her face as his strong hands cupped her ass.

"Oh God…" Mac sucked in a breath, feeling the imprint of his arousal almost pulsating between her legs through the press of the fabric.

"Say it… and I'll give you what you need" he grunted, placing a hand on her hip to halt her undulating movement as her legs moved of their own accord, wrapping around his waist and pulling him closer.

"OmigodIwantyousomuch" she breathed in a desperate whimper. Her hands resting against his naked broad chest, her eyes pleading with him as his lips curved into a wide grin.

Not just sex… she wanted **_him_** … breathing in the woman like she was his air.

"I am not taking your virginity fucking you on a table" he growled, gripping her ass and bracing her against him. Taking her mouth in a hot, hungry kiss that left them both breathless as her arms wrapped around his neck.

 _Damn…. He had to cool down… if he let himself keep reacting to her like this, the night would be over before it started…_

"This hot little ass has got three minutes to get that bedroom and take your clothes off for me…" he rasped, his breathing ragged as he untangled himself from her. Memories of the shower when he'd seen her naked tortured him… that perfect bare pussy just waiting for his fingers, his tongue… hot and wet and primed…

 _Waiting to be his…_

"And if I don't?" she swallowed, her legs a little unsteady as she cast a glance over her shoulder at the bedroom behind them.

 _Could she really do this?_

"I'll carry you caveman-style over my shoulder, and shred those panties with my teeth…" he promised, a determined glint in his eyes.

 _Good Lord…_

"Ms Grainson was right… You really do have a filthy mouth Dick Casablancas…" she blushed, gulping as his fingers slipped inside her bra and caressed her heavy breasts.

"I'm tasting all of you, Bunny" Dick swore. "All of you… then I'm going to make love to you until your toes curl and your eyes roll back into your head and my name is the only thing you can remember… then I'm gonna make you some pancakes… and do it all over again…"

She rewarded him with a gasp as he gently rolled a nipple between his fingers.

"You now have two minutes…" he said, arching an eyebrow expectantly, playfully spanking her ass cheek. Wordlessly she nodded and turned, walking towards the bedroom, stopping half way to cast a glance over her shoulder, she reached up, opened her bra and turned to face him. His mouth going dry as he followed the motion, she bite her lip, teasing him as she tossed the bra aside and swaying those wicked hips as she walked backwards into the room, her hands already reaching for the button on her jeans.

 _He could barely keep his hands off as it was… and she was **teasing** him?_

Cursing, he prowled forwards his powerful strides eating up the short distance between them, scooping her up.

"Dick!" she shrieked in surprise as he swept them both onto the mattress, his mouth already kissing along her stomach.

"Screw the pancakes…" he murmured, pulling the fabric of her panties down over her slim hips, letting out a tortured groan when he saw the swollen slick heat of her sex. "My beautiful little wifey… you are about to learn why you never wanna to divorce me" he said, tugging her closer, and easing her thighs apart.

She barely had time to ask what he meant before she felt the smooth glide of his tongue run along her length and the world erupted in fireworks as he nuzzled his mouth against her clit, sucking and teasing. She reached down, cursing the loss of his shaggy blond hair, torn between wanting to pull herself free, or to pin him in place before she fell off that edge again crying out in pleasure. Her whole body shaking as the orgasm made that pale skin blush and he growled with masculine pride. Shedding his own jeans, her slender body was boneless and pliant in his arms as he climbed along the mattress to settle himself between her legs, she was more than ready for him now.

"You want to be mine, baby?" he asked, tenderly cupping her face, his thumb soothing some of the sweat from her forehead. She felt the tip of him nudging at her entrance, and her greedy flesh ached to accept him, to invite him in and lose themselves in the ancient language of men and women older than time itself. It was going to hurt a little at first, but if it was anything like what they'd just shared, then she wanted it… needed it…

"Oh yes.. yes.." Mac nodded, arching her hips up to meet him, rubbing herself along the length of him, shifting until she felt the tip probing her.

"Fuck…" he swore, bracing one hand on her hip as he gentle thrust himself forwards, watching her face as she gasped sharply, then breathed hard, easing back tenderly and working his way inside.

 _So tight… so soft and warm… and his…_

Dick didn't move, just kissed her, cradling her face allowing her to get used to feel of him stretching inside, then slowly he eased out and thrust back in. She moaned his name and he buried his head against the pillow beside her, fighting to stay in control, their eyes never strayed from one another and he felt his heart beating in time with her, one hand gripping his ass, inviting him deeper, her legs wrapped around his hips as he began pounding into her faster.

"You're perfect…" he said hoarsely, sweat gathering on his brow.

"You feel so good…" she moaned, before her breasts shook and he felt her pussy flutter around him again.

"Want more?" he asked, as he gave her a wide grin, gripping onto her thighs, trying to figure what position he wanted to take her in next. He'd never screwed a girl this wildly responsive… fake marriage or not… he knew it wasn't love between, but whatever it was… fuck he could easily fall in lust with having this little brunette spit-fire to have and to hold for the rest of his life.

She nodded enthusiastically as he claimed a nipple in his mouth, thrusting deeper and changing the pace until it was teasingly slow.

"God, Dick… please don't stop…" Mac begged and he almost laughed when she pouted at his shuddering as he thrust deeper her walls pulling his release from his body. _His sex hungry little wife…_

"Any other demands, darling?" he taunted, grinding his pelvis against her clitoris, gripping her chin with his fingers. Kissing her long and lingering as he felt himself soften, sated, empty and completely done for.

"Y-yeah… I want those pancakes…" she replied sweetly, her body felt light and she was grateful for the comforting bubble of their post-sex cocoon.

 _Did they have to ever leave this bed?_

"I think you might have just ruined me for all other women…" he breathed, feeling the foreign urge to cuddle her closer and prolong their physical connection.


	64. Chapter 64

(Dream by imagine dragons)

"Check" Veronica said to the large Russian man glaring at her, a slight smile curving her mouth as Jake Kane's fingers gripped the bottle in his hands.

"You really know how to play this game, don't you _Kroshka_?" The storm outside had calmed down a bit, but the lightning still cracked around the sky and the power was still out in the mansion, but after a frantic call to Jake Kane by his chief of security she had been dragged into the jeep and driven to the other-side of the island. The Russian mobsters settled back into the Blue Moon's lounge just in time for Neptune resident billionaire to see the news reports of Weevil Navarro's hostage extravaganza blazing across every major news channel.

 _Raise Hell, Weevil. Ride or Die… Should she feel bad that Duncan was caught up in this mess? Maybe… but Duncan was nostalgia… Logan was her life._

She wanted to weep with gratitude; she should have known Eli Navarro wouldn't stop fighting for her. Mac and Dick were safely out of Kane's reach for now, and silently she wished she could get a message to him about hunting down her dad.

"You did this! YOU!" Jake snarled, his hands reaching to grab hold of her but she darted out of his way.

"How?!" she snapped back.

"Thought Boris was handling this?" Dimitri barked at Yuri who muttered something pacifying in Russian.

 _I survive this… I am hot-housing the shit out of Russian…_ Veronica thought wearily.

"If he hurts my son…." He growled, his blue eyes were almost red due to lack of sleep and the alcohol in his system. If Duncan got stressed… he could have seizure, Celeste had been complaining lately the specialist mentioned their son had been off his medication for the last few weeks.

"You'll _what!_ Hurt my dad?" Veronica retorted. "Hurt **_me_**? You've been having your twisted fun distorting the facts and ignoring the fundamental truth… which is you are the World's worst father… and that's why we are all here." Somehow she managed to conceal the tremor in her voice, taking in a deep agonized breath she stared him down.

 _The World's worst father… and completely obsessed with destroying the Echolls boy by any means necessary… it all could have been so different if he'd been even quarter of the parent to his daughter as he'd been to his son._

Less than an hour ago, Jake Kane revealed his associates had abducted her father, Keith Mars and his best friend, Cliff McCormack with the intention of luring Logan Echolls to give himself up to their sick revenge plot or Veronica, and her father would be reunited in the afterlife. Given that their intended target was currently in a medical induced Coma, and this storm had their mega yachts shore-locked on this private island off the coast of Mexico… they hadn't been left with much more options but to wait it out. Those cold sapphire eyes raked over her small, tense features.

 _Help wasn't coming. She'd have to slay her own dragons today… and the ace up her sleeve was that Dimitri Kumaran didn't know she knew his secrets over his affair with Lily… If it really was him… then there was a snake tattoo curling around his left shoulder, starting from just above his elbow like in those pictures she had seen in Lily's bedroom._

Dimitri didn't need to have those shirtsleeves rolled up showing off his muscular forearms to put the fear of God in her. She had instinctively took up position near the small conference area in the corner, silently thanking Wallace's love of the Jurassic movie franchises, as her eyes mentally clocked the position of the three men in the room with her, although by the looks Yuri was giving her, she'd rather take her chances with a Velociraptor or try outrunning a T-rex in heels.

"And I suppose yours is beyond reproach? You can't even see the ways that Keith has messed you up. I never professed to be perfect Veronica… I've made mistakes… and I WILL right my wrongs… but he is the last person who belongs on a pedestal. Duncan told me all about what happened to you, about what you accused him of… and I'm so sorry your dad failed you like that…" His tone said that in his opinion Veronica had been living a solitary life despite her dads presence, he'd been too preoccupied by his attempts to crack the case that had ruined his career to be there for her.

 _When all was said and done… the seed of this all started because of Jake Kane's affair with her mother… he had no right to sit in judgment of Keith Mars, when the blame rested so comfortably at his feet. Veronica was always going to be a daddys girl._

"He was busy trying to find my mother after your wife ran her out of town and had Clarence threaten to kill me" Veronica countered shaking her head, she had quick wits and a quicker tongue. She hated feeling raw and exposed at the sympathy she saw in those eyes. Grief was a crucible, one way or another; it could make you stronger, or break you.

She'd decided that morning in Shelly Pomroy's guest bedroom that she was done losing the things that were important to her.

Follows each and every lead until you arrive at the final conclusion… nothing in those files indicated Logan had any guilt for any of the deaths. Curly Moran had washed up on that beach with her name written on his hand, and Weevil had more piled up evidence against him than Logan for the murder. She didn't know who'd sent that bus over the cliff with her classmates inside, but it certainly wasn't the boy she loved.

 _Even if that niggling doubt about the number connected to his house she didn't recognise and his presence around the bus that morning was still unexplained._

"You would be best advised to stop testing my patience because despite what you think Veronica I loved her. If I didn't know the pain of losing a child… I would be dealing with your smart mouth very differently but I couldn't do that to Lianne …" Jake snarled.

"I'd rather test your sanity" Veronica answered with a curt laugh. "but hey… we can do that right here, how likely on a scale of 1-5 would you say the following statement applies to you? When my first efforts to solve a problem fail, I do not become discouraged in my ability to resolve the situation. Because this…. seeming pretty discouraging to me…" she shrugged pointing at the news report and she watched as Jakes hands balled into fists at his sides before he turned and stormed away from her.

"Stupid girl… don't you have enough problems?" Yuri scoffed.

 _Probably still pissed at her that he was reduced to babysitting duty._

"To me, problems are learning opportunities." Veronica said flippantly, mentally noting that questioning Jake's mental competence seemed to have struck a raw nerve with Dimitri who wore a concerned expression on his face as he tried to coax the bottle of scotch away from this friend.

 _Find a weakness and exploit it._


	65. Chapter 65

(Etham - Before I Lose My Mind)

Whatever the heck had just went down in there Mac Mackenzie had no words for it, other than leave your panties at the door because Dick Casablanca's would rip them right off you… or they'd simply evaporate when he gave her that hot hungry look in his eyes. She stepped from the small shower and cast a look at the very sexy, very _naked_ man asleep in the bed she'd just climbed out of.

She was seriously starting to question her resilience because after this over the top and damn right unnecessary drama of the last 24 hours, she was sure she had lost her mind right along with her virginity.

Sure his jerky personality had melted to let her see his hidden depths and he seemed ready to throw down with the entire Russian Mafia just to keep her safe, but it didn't make up for the fact that she was a terrible person. _Veronica needed her._

She'd slept with her boyfriends older brother… the guy who tormented him, and quite frankly, until last night, he'd bullied her as well… Hell's he was still being a controlling asshat and pushing all her buttons, and Good Lord hadn't he pushed all the right buttons….

"Common sense has been hijacked by chiseled abs and those dimples… that perfect sculpted ass… no way I am not going to burn for this…" Mac sighed. She swallowed hard and tried to shove aside the mixed feelings to focus on getting dressed and setting up that wifi connection. As tempting as it was to climb back into bed and hide away from the world, she couldn't just do nothing. She had promised to contact Daisy soon, and it had been an hour or so since she'd checked on the hostage situation at Neptune Sacred Heart Memorial hospital where Weevil had essentially gone rogue and channelled his inner David, going up against the Goliath that was Kane Industries and their Red Comrades. Dick had driven the few hours here and he hadn't slept much, so she would let him sleep, now she'd had time to quell the panic, she was glad he'd stopped her from calling Weevil right away. It would add to the stress, and he had enough things to worry about.

"This small favor Veronica, is getting more and more intense as the night is moving along, you better be okay… so I can yell at you" she mumbled, reaching for the t-shirt she'd discarded earlier. "Hack the GPS you said… need to find Logan you said… let's just draw the ire of some unknown all powerful adversary you said… and I am talking to myself…. Life would be so much easier Mackenzie if you had just stuck to family scrabble night… but no… I mean... whats a triple word score when you can take on the Soviet Union?"

She reached for the small flip phone she'd taken from Dick's pocket and thumbed over the messages from Toni, rolling her eyes at the A Team reference that her sleeping companion had logged him under.

Mr T – You good?

Mr T- DONT TURN BACK. Can't help if you get caught.

Mac blinked away tears at the footage of her family on her laptop screen, her mothers face peeking from behind the twitching curtains. Being bombarded by the slathering press hounds all eager for a sound bite from them about their delinquent daughters downward spiral into cybercrime.

Ninja – Be Safe… don't need you guys doing anything reckless.

Ninja – Stick to the Plan.

She knew Daisy was right, they have enough threats of violence against their own lives to risk being fired at by some over zealous Deputy.

Dead Movie Stars, Murdered Journalists, Conspiracy theories about the alledged Kane Kidnapping of Logan Echolls hitting some blog site…. and his 'Epic' escape attempt and Hostage drama at the local hospital… Suggestions of Dick being to blame for the bus crash? All your average notorious night in Neptune. You would think it'd make the blurb of her hacking Kane Industry systems nothing more than a footnote, but apparently whoever Jake had inside the Press outlets spreading those lies about Logan, had convinced enough people that she was the next Wiki-Leaks or Snowden. This was all getting so out of control, how could they even begin to fix this?

Not to mention, until she could clear her name, or dig up enough dirt to back Kane and his Russian mobsters into a corner, the world had labelled them the Cyber Bonnie and Clyde of Neptune. Picking a fight with the Digital Age Devil wasn't so smart a move when you factored in that Kane Industries could rival Microsoft or Google.

"This is like playing battleship in a dingy against the Navy" she sighed, burying her fingers in her now red hair.

"Who is Beetlejuice73?" Dick asked sleepily, his warm arms wrapping around her chest, making her jump a little as he nuzzled against her neck, and scooted into the booth beside her. Glancing at the username on her screen.

"I thought you were sleeping?" she asked, her eyes skimming over the handsome face, blushing as she noticed he was still naked.

"I woke up and you were gone... should have known you were sneaking off to play spy" he said, nibbling her ear and she felt heat flood through her body.

"Aren't you… cold?" she stammered as she felt his fingers trace the exposed skin between her t-shirt and jeans. His scent, his nearness was driving her senses wild and she could feel her body clench, missing the feel of him. Every nerve ending firing alive with the desire

"No, it's kinda hot in here…" he answered, his lips chasing hers as his other hand cupped her face.

"Y-you should shower… while the water's still warm… I think there's an extra towel in the bag…" Mac replied nervously and he frowned as she shifted around the U bend of the booth and sat opposite him. His eyebrows drew together in confusion and he drummed his fingers on the table, wordless and studying her face but she shyly avoided eye-contact.

"What's the matter?" he asked confused about the sudden reluctance to make contact with him. His mind racing back over what had gone down in the bedroom before he'd fallen asleep with her wrapped up beside him after, frankly, the best sex of his whole goddamn life.

Did he miss something?

 _Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary, she'd been as into it as he was… he was sure of it… her every move had been perfectly attuned to his… she'd done things he loved that only a few girls he'd ever been with often enough had learned he liked… did she regret what had happened between them?_

"N-nothing… it was great, wonderful in fact but… I-WE shouldn't let ourselves get distracted…" she swallowed. The intensity of those blue eyes glaring at her right now were a far cry from the tender look they'd held when he had been thrusting deep into her not so long ago.

"Distracted?" he repeated, the word tasting like ash in his mouth. Was she serious right now? Not that he felt entitled to sex… but out of everything going down right now, this was the only part of it that made any sense to him. It simplified them… they belonged together. The one perfect sanctuary in all this chaos… and she wanted to forget it ever happened?

"This… complicates things…" she told him, her grey eyes still struggled to hold his gaze, and he was sure that his expression was anything but friendly right now. "It's dangerous…"

 _Just like that huh? This was why he didn't date clever chicks… they always let their heads get in the way with overthinking every little detail…_

"Complicates things… dangerous… and you couldn't decide that before we spent the last two hours screwing each other's brains out… or is it only wrong AFTER you got what you wanted?" he snapped, getting up from the table.

"Dick I…"

"Forget it, you should get back to tagging malware, dropping some Trojan cat videos in some emails or whatever it is you do… and I should go get some pants on.. wouldn't want you getting side-tracked now you scratched that itch" he ground out, storming back towards the bedroom before he lost it.

His little wife mightn't have gotten a ring on her finger… but seemed she flipped that switch just as good as some of his dad's ex-wives once she'd gotten what she wanted.

 _He'd taken her virginity… how in the hell could he have been dumb enough to think that actually meant something… that the gentle look in her eyes as she pressed sweet kisses on his face had been a sign of deepening affection…_

"Way to keep it light … you big baby… acting out as if she took your favorite toy away…" he murmured silently himself.

He'd barely stepped inside and picked up his rumbled jeans when he felt slender arms curl around his waist and tug him into an embrace. A shy kiss pressed into his back before she rested what he assumed was her forehead against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry… Please… don't be upset… I don't want to forget…" she said softly and he wrapped a hand around her tiny wrist, feeling her hug him tighter. "I-I still want you… but I don't know what I'm supposed to do now.." she confessed, her voice barely more than a thread of sound.

He sighed and nodded, smoothing his fingers along her forearm. She wasn't wrong, this… was beyond complicated, and he was heading to Hades, and every other dark hellfire realm for breaking the bro-code and pretty much every Dude Law Barney Stinson had ever written for screwing his little brothers girlfriend.

And yet here he was… deluding himself that it didn't count since he had 'Legal Dibs' after his computer screw up… and he was throwing some kind of Madison style hissy fit tantrum that she wanted to do the decent moral thing and stop the cheating and hot, passionate sex and catch the bad guys trying to kill them?

He should be trying to find out what was happening with Logan, or trying to call in the troops to see what's going on… maybe set up a call with his lawyer, do some long term escape strategy's here. There was that end-of-the-world military fall out bunker his second "step-fathers" dad had left him that he was pretty sure Richard Casablanca's senor had kept it off any official record.

Although now he was sure that dear old dad probably did that as some Hole in The Ground Escape plan from the authorities than any genuine interest in Prepping… Hell it might still have enough supplies stocked up in there to last them a decade or two… maybe he should even be turning this RV rustbucket of a tin can into that very direction and hoping this whole thing could blow over, and that that any wanna be Mr Mars and Veronica conspiracy nuts would have been solved everything by the time they rejoined civilization?

Why the hell was he even thinking about this now?

 _Tempting… but she'd never go for it…_

"This is all so crazy…" she said, and he felt her squeeze him a little tighter.

"Sometimes you have to just hang on and trust that life's storms are carrying you to better shores" he answered quietly, turning and pulling her into a fierce kiss, picking her up from the floor and pressing her body against the wall. His mouth and tongue swept her way with him until she almost felt drunk off his taste.

"You're always so _steady_ …" she whimpered jealously when he finally released his hold on her. He always seemed to be so focused, and navigating on some kind of obvious truth that all was dandy with the world, while _she_ … felt like she was clinging onto her sanity by the tips of her fingernails.

"Run away with me" he rasped in a hoarse voice, his wide shoulders caging her between the corded muscles of his arms.

"What?" she gasped.

"Let's just go… you and me…" Dick implored, his blue eyes swallowing her up, a quiet pleading in them flooding through the air between them like wildfire.

"Go.. like just leave Weevil, and Veronica…? Just abandon everything?" Mac asked.

How could Dick even suggest something like that? She could see the conflict on his face, even as she said it, she knew some core part of him rejected the very idea. Dick Casablanca's might be an egotistical jerkface on a good day… but he was loyal jerkface to the people he considered part of his bro-tribe. The very idea of ditching his friend in a crisis was cutting he some essential part of him, but it warred with the very new internal mandate that he protect this small woman who tied him up in knots.

"I know.. it's messed up…" he said, mentally slamming the door in the idea's face but the pained expression told her he was deeply considering it. "For you I would… if you asked it of me… fuck… I didn't plan this…" he stepped back, cursing himself.

"You know we can't…" she breathed, her grey eyes guarded carefully in case she betrayed something that she shouldn't.

 _Did she want to?_

"I'm aware of that" he bit out, more frustrated with himself for even giving the traitorous thought more than a moment's notice much less voice it aloud. She was right, the sex was complicating things… he cast a look towards the bed, scene of the crime and her eyes followed the movement as he felt the memories race straight through his blood. His eyes darkening as fierce emotion tightened his features.

He wanted to claim this girl… for real… even if it meant abandoning everything he told himself he stood for… if it meant breaking that promise he'd made to Logan the day Lilly was murdered that he'd always have his back.

 _Yeah… lust for this girl was making him feel a Judas level of insane… he just hadn't expected the hot gothy bookworm to have the playbook for his dick._

He needed to throw his libido into a straight jacket, and dump it heavily medicated into a padded cell someplace in Anatartica. Part of his soul was begging for whatever this was, for her grey eyes to see it and agree to come away with him.

He sounded ridiculous even to his own ears... INSTALOVE? REALLY?

Maybe this thundering in his chest, this… panic… was because he now had something very _REAL_ in his life he didn't want to lose, and he'd left whichever selfish side of him that might have been able to walk away from her… right there in that bed between those sheets.

He had no right to need her, but he did.

"I don't know… what you've done to me Bunny… one twitch of that sexy lil nose and… I would just about do anything for you right now…" Dick swallowed, even if he'd never really got why Logan could choose a girl over his friends he understood it now, because here he was, lying to himself about all the ways it was going to be forgiven for taking his little brothers girl… the only woman whom he'd ever noticed Beaver take any kind of interest in.

This bewitching girl with the bullet grey eyes who'd shot everything he'd assumed about himself to pieces. The girl who made him want to be her hero… the one who seemed to know all of his keystrokes by heart, who matched him perfectly and made him want to tear those figure-hugging jeans right back off her and dive right back into that bed, plunge into her heat, kiss them both into oblivion and swallow every suggestion they risk anything that could ever take her from him.

She was so right… this kind of thinking was dangerous.


	66. Chapter 66

Amy Shark - Mess her up.

"So, now are we just supposed to keep waiting?" Duncan asked, casting a nervous glance over to the gagged deputy in the corner. He'd contacted his fathers head of security about fifteen minutes ago, and Clarence had advised him to stay calm, that he was on his way to consult some former associates of his in the FBI and made some kind of 'it will all be okay' pep talk.

"I don't know.. let me consult my hostage-taking handbook… I wasn't exactly expecting a pop quiz" Weevil shot back sarcastically. Almost afraid to blink in case he missed something from the other side of the glass, no doubt Sheriff Lamb, the confident bastard, was running some smooth kind of line to the consulting press liaison about dealing with the underbelly of Neptune, and how it would all work out, because he was just an enforcer of the local gang of mobsters.

Nothing to see here, folks, just move it along.

The complete loser opposite of Duncan Kane's synopsis he was sure.

Star quarterback? Check. Class President? Check. Upstanding Golden Balls Future Leader of America? Check. Yeah well… Weevil knew in the la la land of make believe princesses and fairy tales it didn't count for shit. The slippers shattered, the apples were poisoned and despite being gifted athletes the quarterbacks all ended up more than a bit broken playing someone elses game. The dirty truth was, it was the lie of any kind of perfect that ripped dreams apart. Maybe that's why for all his tough and charm, he knew the only way not to get swallowed was to become the kind of beast who made the monsters think twice.

The only way out of this mess… looked as black as obsidian, and that emptiness glaring back from his future, could reduce even the strongest people to simpering puddles of fear. Guys like Kane didn't know what it was like to scratch by on your wits, and little else.

Logan groaned and the monitors did some kind of erratic beeping, drawing both of their attention.

"What's happening?" Duncan asked, reaching for the chart.

"I'm not a real doctor" Weevil sighed, trying to decipher the mess of records.

"The nurse said… if he didn't wake up soon, that he wouldn't be waking up at all… we have to get someone in here who knows what they are doing" Duncan told him. "The longer he's like this…"

This whole night, had started in an effort to save Logan.

All of it, the witch-hunt from Lamb, the mutiny amongst his boys.. that fucking boat ride.. Veronica getting lost. Having to steal his Uncles RV to ship off two of his classmates… leaving Elec behind with three dead bodies, and knowing the justice system would just as soon close the case instead of solve it by hanging him out to dry… having to take Mr Perfect here hostage to find out what happened to Veronica… Mr Mars going missing… it all started with him, and now the asshole might not even make it?

No way he could risk letting someone in here…he watched those cops shows, it was always some subterfuge, they'd probably dress up an uncover cop in a nurses uniform and he'd get disarmed in under a minute.

"Then you gotta choose… because if I let them in here, then I lose my only shot at finding out what happened with Veronica before she winds up in a body bag, and I've already made that mistake once tonight… he'd use that smart mouth the size of Texas to tell to tell us to pick her… so he's just gonna have to ride it out" Weevil replied firmly.

"Do you love her?" Duncan asked, regarding the alpha biker with a hardened expression.

"It doesn't matter, even if I did…" he said simply, casting eyes towards Logan, and the rest past silently between them, because even if he'd entertained the idea of Love after Lily… the petite detectives heart was already taken.

"If there's nothing else, you can leave us here… from all reports you have quite the body count tonight and two federal fugitives who've just vanished… and some unfiled reports of missing people? I can lend a some of my people if matching the Mars Investigations disappearances and the Van Lowe murders is beyond the tiny resources of your small department…" Agent Simmons said dismissively to Sheriff Lamb, and his jaw clenched to keep from betraying how much her tone grated on him. In the last five minutes since she'd stepped out of the dark SUV and met him at the private elevator back to the ICU, she'd already made it perfectly clear she had no use for the small time, small town Sheriff. Her hair was dark like melted chocolate, but that pale skin of hers might as well be made of marble and everything he said to convince her to let him run point on the negotiation due to his "history" with the gunman was met with a that cool blue-green glare.

"We know exactly what we are doing... it takes more than a flashy federal budget to really see what's going on in a case like this" Lamb retorted, crossing his arms over his chest, mindful of the spectators and press just behind him.

"Really? I'm guessing it does take a certain kind of skill to completely fail to SEE those trainers in your OWN crime scene photos that led to the wrongful conviction a man over evidence that was so obviously planted" Simmons countered and watched as the smug Sheriff flushed with hot anger and embarrassment.

"Logan Echolls is in our custody... and when he wakes up, will be convicted for the sabotaging of the Neptune High School Bus, the slaying of Felix Toombs and the murder of Lilly Kane"

"Except... the only 'witness' to come forward blaming him for the slaying of Felix Toombs recanted his statement, and there was new evidence supplied that points to a second boy...one Eduardo "Thumper" Orozco? Seems your 'Witness' was in quite some debt to some local drug dealers" the agent said, crossing her arms as the other agent flanking her handed over a small summary of the report.

They'd been in Neptune for all of five minutes... how the hell had someone had time to get this information.. let alone have it printed, letter-headed and handed to him as an official report?

Frowning Lamb flicked over the statement, this was not happening... from one of the worst nights of his life... to this morning of high drama hostage hell?

"How did...?" he stammered, his eyes flicking over the details in the file.

"Good old fashioned police work... you see, there are two kinds of cops, Sheriff... those who close cases and those who solve them. Now since you seem to be the former, I'll let you in on a little trade secret... it really helps to be... what was it you said? 'familiar with the underbelly of the players in a town like Neptune'?" she said sarcastically, putting her hands on her hips. "One of those 'Bodies' at that crime scene you should be working instead of being such a lengua larga... was Letti Hernandez... estranged wife of Francis Hernandez. Local business owner, and your run of the mill middle-man for everything from drugs, guns and stolen car parts, does business out of some laundromat here in town... but he's never been much of a player, so he's always been more useful as an informant. Word is... even though they might have been separated because hes a bit of a tramposo... he still loved his wife and didn't particularly appreciate the wheels of justice taking so long. **Your** Witness is currently in Neptune General being patched up..."

"Elec Perez was being held for that.." Lamb ground out.

"I guess Frankie didn't quite believe that... I hear he's even paying up for the kids lawyer... took to busting some knee caps to get to the ACTUAL people responsible before we do... but hey... maybe that Elec kid knows something we dont? I assume you can follow up the paper work from there. As for the bus crash rumours... I have yet to speak to a single person who puts Echolls in direct involvement and although some interesting financial transactions were made into Mr Moran's account but the source has yet to be established."

"Well... seems you have it all figured out... maybe I should leave you to it, Agent" Sheriff Lamb swallowed.

"Yeah... well that was just five minutes into the investigation... I can only imagine the kind of things we could unravel if we had say... the past several weeks to ascertain the facts?" those blue-green eyes raking over him impatiently. She reminded him of everything he hated about Keith Mars... that smug, holier-than-thou out for truth and justice and the American way haughty attitude that even his daughter had.

Agents like her looked down on guys like him like they were small fry, because they swam in deeper waters... but they needed to remember that even the littlest fish could choke a shark if they played things right.

She was an idiot if she thought her evidence would uncover something that Jake Kane and his army of lawyers wouldnt just bury under litigation and the weight of their billions. He'd seen it... for godsakes... the Kanes had framed an innocent man for murder, exploited a weak and dying man and that 'hearing' was a minor inconvenience before their brunch dates rubbing elbows with the other upper echelons of American Royalty... these people feasted with Governors and owned entire small countries because they could manipulate and rig elections or even a presidency with their 'Investments'

Her insinuations might make his weekly golf sessions with the Mayor a little uncomfortable for a few weeks... but it would Ultimately tank her own career.

"I'm sure it's riveting stuff..." Lamb countered, thrusting the file in Deputy D'Amatos direction.

"Ummmm... I won't really have to go through with this, will I?" Deputy White asked as he looked at the Agent handing over some 6 inch heels and fishnet tights.

He wasn't sure which of them looked more ridiculous tonight... the Deputy in the Rocky Horror Picture Show Burlesque outfit... or him as all these cases fell apart around him...

(I know theres a lot of love for the MaDi scenes, are there any other threads in this story you guys are particularly enjoying?)


	67. Chapter 67

Meg Myers - Monster

"What? No y-you have the wrong person!" Kendall Casablancas shrieked as the cold metal cuffs clicked over her wrists. Her dark brown eyes wide with bewilderment and shock, it was so convincing that under any other circumstances, one might have thought she was genuinely innocent, but the evidence, and her 'new identity' and prior criminal record didn't lie.

Seemed Echolls and his 'accomplices' were innocent of at least some of the murders, but they were still wanted for the data theft. Forensics had linked Echolls to the abandoned boat at the Neptune Marina and they were still trying to crack the encryption for the laptop left behind, something even Cordelia Warsten, their resident cyber whiz seemed to be having trouble to crack.

The cell phone number which Weevil had given told Agent Simmons about had proved calls were made to his cell phone from a number which had pinged off several towers, and the search of the property found it stored in the Casablancas family pool house.

"We just have to ask you a few questions, but it was your personal chequing account used to transfer several deposits to one David Moran.. the man suspected of being responsible for the bus crash which would have killed both of your step-sons… imagine my NON surprise when we investigated the life insurance policy's if both those boys were to have perished in that 'accident'… it would have made you a VERY wealthy woman" Agent Batista told her coldly. He loved making a collar, the outrage on their faces, the Scooby Doo moment of 'those meddling kids' never got old.

"I have no idea what you are talking about… please… you have the wrong woman! I'm innocent!" she pleaded.

 _She was in trouble if they put her away…. Liam Fitzpatrick wouldn't get his payments this week… If they found that stash house in her real name…. he'd send someone for her…_

"Take her down to Lock up" Batista told the taller man restraining her as he nodded to the car.

"You okay?" Special Agent Brodie Carter asked the younger man who looked like he was about to throw up, but the trainee agent figured that if he'd just found out his stepmother had been plotting his murder... that he'd have been a bit green himself. Cassidy watched them arrest Kendall and put her into the back of a car, while she screamed and protested, claiming that obviously the gun was there because Dick had been all over the news, and that they would be hearing from her lawyer.

"Uhmm.." Cassidy swallowed, his pale blue eyes flicking nervously around the house at all the agents. This was all getting so out of control… first Dick had ditched him (again) after that party to go see about Logan and the next thing… there were all those news stories about his brother and his Mac all over the news.

Calling Dick an accomplish in the bus crash… it was so laughable… if any of those people had ever met his brother, there was no way they could think him the mastermind behind something like that. The guy could barely even tie his shoes… he still thought that Hawaiian shirts could be worn _ironically_ and not make you look like a creep.

The whole twist in them assuming Kendall had anything to do with it was just sheer luck on his part…. He'd been planning on dealing with her later anyway… and sure he'd planned on teaching his brother a lesson eventually, but he figured dating the girl his brother had been nuts about since the Freshmen year spelling bee would be revenge enough… it might has started that way, and he admitted he'd been using her for building his website, even thinking she'd make a great scape goat if it blew up eventually.. but what had started out as a plot to get vengeance against his brothers tyranny… the more Cassidy had spent time with the nerdy brunette, saw how she was as much his brothers victim as he was… when he'd finally had someone he could really connect with, who really **saw** him… he'd fallen for Mac. He could almost at times… let that wall down… and allow himself to be with her… it could be so easy… she was so soft… so pure… and he wanted that again. Wanted it given to him like a gift instead of something he'd…

Mac made him want to rid himself of his demons, to purge the sickness he felt festering inside him like a lead weight in his chest… and take charge of his life… to put Woody Goodman and his past behind him, permanently… bury it 6 feet under…. and he would prove to his dad he could be a better business man… Cassidy had run his pathetic old man out of town. He'd be in college soon, graduating at 16.. a whole two years earlier than most of kids his age…

 _Sometimes the best revenge was a successful life… and he was too close to fail now…_

"Do you have someone we can call for you?" Batista asked, wondering if they were going to have to get hold of child protective services… school would be starting in an hour or so, but he wasn't about to leave a minor unsupervised.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY! AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT USING SOME KIND OF ZAP THINGY!" a feminine shrill voice snapped from the door way.

"Madison?" Cassidy asked, glancing in over to the doorway in surprise, silently thankful for her well timed obnoxious invasion.

"You know this… young woman?" the irritated agent asked carefully.

"Uhmm y-yeah… she's Dickys ex-umm… his… girlfriend…" Cassidy nodded, feeling more confident now he had the perfect distraction.. nothing cleared unwanted focus better than an irate Madison Sinclair.

She was a nasty vindictive bitch, and Cassidy could barely tolerate her on the best of days… but there times like now, her possessiveness and prima donna attitude had its advantages.

"Yes… and you will NOT be speaking to my future-brother-in-law without an adult legal advisory-person present!" She snapped.

 _Yeah... the word is Lawyer..._

"And if you even THINK about touching my Dick, we will be suing you, and your boss right after CNN for slander… do I look like the kind of person who would the girlfriend of a mass murderer?" she ranted in her let-make-cheering-great-again power pose.

"How old are you?" Agent Carter asked, trying to ward off the mental eye-roll, and silently wondering if it was too late to get the ear piece he'd left in his car.. at least then he'd only get the entitled princess caterwauling in ONE ear… Surely the kid would rather go to CPS than deal with Ms Teen Vogue here?

"How dare you ask a woman her age!" Madison growled, practically stamping her foot, looking every bit the Queen Cheerleader having a temper tantrum as her face burned red and furious. "I'll have you know I NEVER have to use that snapchat filter and my foundation is…"

He raised a hand to silence her. "I only want to know if you are over 18 so I can release him into your custody… or I'll have to call CPS to register him at school"

"Oh…" she nodded.

"Madison... you don't hav-" Cassidy said quietly as the Agent handed over his school bag.

"Silence, pipsqueak... just try not to get your dweeb germs on my car..." she said dismissively before focusing her attention back on the agent. "Don't think this mean's I'm going to let you keep you spreading those lies about my Dick!" she declared, grabbing onto Cassidy's arm and dragging him towards her car opening the door before tossing "I have a Good Dick! My Dick is Great! My Dick is the best!" over her shoulder.


	68. Chapter 68

The Pretty Wreckless - Hit me like a man

"Holy Luke Cage please let this work..." he whispered to himself like a silent prayer, lighting the fuse. Wallace Fennel was running like all the hounds of hell were hot on his heels, knowing that time was of the essence. The wind and rain was so cold it felt like icy sheets of glass pouring through his skin as he placed the firecrackers far enough out of the way that it could still be heard, but take some time to locate the noise.

 _Remind me to thank coach for all those hours spent circling the gym..._

He'd left his bedroom through the window and down the tree in the same way that he'd watched Veronica do on occasion when she'd been over _working_ with him on a case and his mother had been all over him about having a girl in his room. Well at least until she h had begun dating his best friends dad.

The plan had been to go and see Keith, run some interference, and plead the case for leniency, then the world had fallen off of its axis and his mother called him sobbing. Veronica was in real danger this time… like she had been last summer. _Because of Logan... again... She wasn't answering his calls…_

Veronica was the _Dagger_ to his _Cloak_.

Aaron Echolls ended up all over the news, and he wasn't sure how all of it connected to the blonde teenager, or Logan, but in a world with Veronica Mars.

Wallace knew everything you thought you knew was just surface, waiting for the right person to come along and pick the right thread to unravel the whole messed up tapestry. The story we thought we knew, quite often, was a pretty deception, and the truth was a grenade that tore Universes apart and Levelled Empires.

What he hadn't expected, was to be in his van, watching as Cliff and Keith Mars were abducted from the street near the Neptune Impound lot where Veronica's car sat in full view. He was going to raise the alarm, call 911 when he saw a dark long-haired man in a suit toss an envelope at the Deputy Briar who was watching the abduction from his booth at the security gate, it looked very much like a pay-off. His heart pounded wildly in his chest, while his mind frantically channelled its inner Superfly, connecting dots.

Aaron Echolls… _DEAD_... he had been in state prison and nothing about the man said suicidal when Wallace had watched the footage of his pre-trial tv interviews with Veronica. He was too calculated for that.

 _So that meant someone more connected was responsible, someone who had the cops in their pocket..._

Keith Mars and Cliff McCormack were being held by some business-type goons in a small warehouse, just off the Harbour side, and he'd never been more grateful how easily he could blend into shadows, after all the playing look out for Veronica.

He never thought he would be using it to sneak around some mobster infested shipping yard, waiting for an opportunity to make his move. They'd made some Super Villain video call, and his heart almost caved when he heard Veronica's voice over the speaker phone. He couldn't make up much of what they'd been saying, but he used the distraction to come back with the basketball he'd stored in his van, mentally thanking the petite sleuth for her bag of 'distractions' she had given him for when she needed to make a quick escape.

Firecrackers. A small paint gun. An air horn.

They might be dollar store pranks, but it had been enough to leave just one of the five guards behind. At 18, choking out a grown man had taken more effort than it always appeared in the movies, and it wouldn't be long until he was found.

The firecrackers went off, and he waited until it was time, then he launched the ball full force into the remaining mans face. Wallace was certain he had broken the man's nose, and the distraction was enough that he followed it up with a quick series of punches. He had never been much of a fighter, and pain exploded in his knuckles. Cursing, he watched as Keith got to his feet and rushed the guy like a line-backer into the wall winding him.

"Wallace…" Cliff said in shock, a flurry of surprise and half-formed questions in his eyes.

"No time, we have to move" Wallace winced and he looked over at where Keith had reached into the mans pocket searching for keys. He didn't seem pleased when he came up empty.

"We should go…" he told him.

"I'm parked round back…" Wallace pointed, and helped Cliff to his feet. Keith nodded, reaching for the man's gun, and phone.

"We survive this… You and Veronica, are so very very grounded…" Cliff quipped, nursing his bruised head, but moving speedily after the other two men.

"Keith…" Wallace said nervously, glancing at the phone on the dashboard Keith searched the small bag Veronica always left in his van, finding what looked like a bobby pin as he reversed out of the shipping yard, careful not to turn on his headlights to attract attention.

They wouldn't have long before those faceless bad guys in suits came back and his stomach rolled as visions of Transporter style car chases through the narrow streets in Neptune flooded his mind. He might be able to toss ball around like an NBA star, but the gearbox in this 'loved' wagon was not up for that sort of abuse.

"Not now…. Pull in at the next parking lot, and kill the engine." Keith ordered. His single-minded focus was almost frightening, and he had no idea what to say to his best friends dad.

 _They had messed up so badly this time, those men had guns!_

"Won't they find us?" Cliff asked, alarmed.

"They will be looking for someone doing their best to drive very fast, very far away…" Keith said reaching for the phone, pulling the sim card, and battery out.

His daughter was alive... she was with Jake Kane… and every nerve ending in his body was howling in a murderous rage that wanted to tear the man apart. He'd slept with his wife, ruined his career, had him kidnapped and was holding him hostage to blackmail his daughter into making an impossible choice.

"We should call the police, with this new evidence.. the cctv near the impound lot… he will have to listen now… once Letti and Van Lowe get back with those files…" Cliff suggested but stopped speaking once Wallace shook his head.

"That's how I knew to find you, I was across the street when you got taken, Ponytail back there paid off the deputy, I think whoever this is, has most of the Sheriffs Department in their back pocket" he told him, his dark eyes looked wide and frightened, and it really hit home to Keith exactly how far his parental abandonment with Veronica had gotten when he saw how young and vulnerable Wallace really was.

Even looking up at her from that hospital bed the night of the fire, knowing she had arrested Aaron Echolls. She always just seemed so much more capable than her young age would have you believe. Veronica was a force of nature, she'd worried a seasoned former FBI agent, Clarence Weidman, and even though she was every inch his daughter… she was built for this life in ways that he wasn't. She was smarter, and he could only pray now that she had the wits to keep herself alive until he could get to her. He knew Logan Echolls was in the hospital, they'd known that before they went to find her car.

"Elec said he had heard from Weevil. We should find them, try to jigsaw some of this nightmare together" Cliff proposed but Keith hushed him and reached for the volume on the radio, tossing his handcuffs onto the dash.

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. NEPTUNE MACKENZIE AND CASABLANCAS FUGITIVES SUSPECTED OF AIDING SUSPECT ECHOLLS FLEE THE COUNTRY BEFORE BOATING ACCIDENT.

The news report went on to explain details of a virtual breach of Kane Industry systems and that there had been a significant amount of data theft of sensitive patented information during the hack. Mr Kane was 'unavailable' for comment due to focusing his efforts on trying to secure his systems after the severity of the attack.

"Dick Casablancas is like the Jack Sparrow of Neptune High" Wallace murmured, figuring that if Veronica had needed to get to Logan, she would have had to team up with her nemesis, but he had a hard time picturing it, any time he'd ever seen Veronica and Casablancas interact, it was like battle of the blondes. Had been ever since she had destroyed his surfboard last year.

"Veronica, made contact with one of Eli's motorcycle members, she had told him she thought she was on an island someplace, but she couldn't be sure where" Keith told him.

"Do we throw darts at a map to find this island?" Cliff asked.

The video call had been made from somewhere, and the number and details were in this phone. Rosita Garcia was one of his former contacts, one of the few bloggers/reporters in Neptune who hadn't wanted to crucify him over the handling of the Lily Kane case. His private eye work had allowed her to prove her sisters case in a bitter custody battle with her abusive ex-boyfriend a year ago, and her line of work gave access to some of the equipment he needed for verifying her sources and chasing down leads. She would give him what he asked for, she'd have the hacking skills he'd need to access the information buried somewhere in this phone.

"No, but we will have to ask an old friend for help" Keith replied reaching for Cliffs wrists to remove the cuffs.


	69. Chapter 69

Written by Wolves - Elastic Heart

"He sounds like that guy from Antman & the Wasp..." Sheriff Lamb complained as Weevil continued filling Agent Simmons in on his version of the events last night. Swaggering back onto the ward with a file of his own, he knew those pictures from the raid at Casablancas Enterprises would come in useful someday.

"And now we all know the level of entertainment you enjoy but this is police work, so unless you have something relevant to share, keep your comic book references to yourself" Simmons growled.

"Oh, this is relevant …" Lamb retorted giving her a smug grin and handing over the photographs of Logan Echolls in bed with Kendall Casablancas. He'd been planning on selling the pictures to the press when the Aaron Echolls trial went public, Hells, he had extra copies in his car for his regular Journalist friends and most of them were still here. No reason he couldn't knock Agent Bitch here off her pedestal and make bank at the same time.

He might even think about taking her home and letting her soothe that battered ego against his body… now that he'd had a little sleep, and a chance to shower and change, the buttoned up Agent here didn't look half bad. Her job kept her in great shape, and he could almost picture how great she would look in a pencil skirt rather than those navy slacks.

"Echolls and Mrs Casablancas…" Simmons stated, she looked less than pleased the Sheriff had finally provided information she hadn't known, or she had read the male interest in his eyes just moments ago. "Where did you get these?"

"Oh, you know… _Police work_ " he grinned, those perfect white teeth flashing at her.

"I don't imagine the DA or the Press Secretary would look too kindly on evidence that you had these 'suspects' under surveillance but didn't act on it before 8 people lost their lives. That kind of thing tends to get a department hanged in the court of public opinion" she said firmly, setting the folder aside.

"You say that like you think I haven't been doing my job…" Lamb snarled, less than pleased she had dismissed his Ace so quickly.

"I say that because you still _aren't_. There were several incidents of gang violence just this morning as the Lobos Cartel, faced off with some of your local PCH boys. Frank Hernandez is out for answers and he's painting the town red, yet your guys are… dressed in drag?" Agent Simmons growled back, pointing towards Deputy White who was wiping mascara off his face.

"But you've been here for over an hour, and Eli Navarro is still in there with two high value hostages and one of my deputys… any idea when we send in SWAT?" the furious Sheriff demanded. It wasn't his idea to give into Weevils demand that Deputy White dress in that ridiculous outfit, although the photos were blowing up his Instagram feed. #Protect&Serving #LookingLeggyonthejob

"And risk the hostages?" Agent Warsten interjected as if it was the most ludicrous idea she had ever heard.

"They are in contact with someone, there is more going on here, so either these cases are all connected somehow and I'm just not seeing the thread yet. Or Eli Navarro is here under orders, and that means even if we taken him out- which we could have done about forty minutes ago- that those 'high value hostage' are still at risk" Simmons explained, folding her arm. "But-thank you-for bringing this to me.. Sheriff" she added. Obviously that professional training to win-the-hearts-and-minds was kicking in, because it sure sounded to him like it just about kicked her own throat to get that last bit out. Yet, her point did give him pause. Had someone hired Weevil to take out Echolls and Duncan Kane was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?

"What are they doing out there?" Duncan asked, as he peered through the window. Most of the view was covered by a privacy screen that the cops had used to cover their work station. It made him nervous, they wouldn't see someone coming and his dad only texted him once to say that everything was being taken care of.

 _Taken care of? What the hell did that mean? Did he really have Veronica?_

Forensics had come back proving that Logan had been on that boat with Mac and Dick but his mind struggled to accept Weevils version of things. This was his dad… could he really do something like that? Less than 10 hours ago, he'd found out that he was going to be a father, and he already felt so protective of that tiny life, if his parents really thought that Logan Echolls was responsible for the murder of his sister… then of course his dad would act. He'd move heaven and hell to get justice, just like he'd go to some pretty dark places to protect his son.

He looked over at his companion, and back at Deputy Ryan's chained to radiator looking at him conspiratorially with wide brown eyes.

 _Seems he wasn't above going to some pretty dark places himself to get the truth…_

"Texas Showdown?" Weevil suggested wearily, he was about to say more when they were interrupted by a ringtone.

"It's my dad.." Duncan said hastily as he answered. "Dad?"

"Duncan?" asked a tired female voice.

"Veronica?! What the hell is going on?" Duncan asked, pressing it onto speaker.

"I don't have a lot of battery left to explain…" her voice sounded hollow and something about the reluctant tone made his heart seize.

 _Not a lot of battery left?_

"Where are you?" Weevil asked, relief at hearing her alive flooding through his body. He couldn't even call Mac to let her know, he'd deleted the numbers in that flip phone so any of Lambs goons couldn't use it to track them if he got caught.

"Waiting on the coast guard... hopefully…" she sniffed.

"Are you okay?" Weevil asked, his gut tense.

 _Dear God please don't let anything like his imagination had been picturing that could have really messed her up be real…_

"It's been… a _really_ long day…" she said finally.

"You owe me a leather jacket" he joked and she snorted a tired laugh as if small talk was silly.

"Where's my dad?" Duncan asked, frowning as if the question had just occurred to him and the playful moment disappeared, some horrible truth blooming.

"Please just get me home…" she whispered before the other end of the line erupted into painful traumatised sobs.


	70. Chapter 70

Avril Lavigne – I fell in love with the Devil.

"All these assholes would love to get my Dick…" Madison Sinclair growled as she stomped around Neptune High School as the FBI agents rummaged through her locker for any evidence of her boyfriend. Dick Casablancas. Cassidy winced at the unintended dirty joke; no doubt even such an obvious joke would be going right over the bottle blondes head.

"Madison-" Cassidy tried to interrupt but it seemed she was off on a little tirade as they began opening his locker as well.

"They want their hands all over my Dick but they will never get him" she taunted the Agent. "No matter how many lies you spread about my Dick."

"Madison-" He tried again. _This wasn't a good idea... they would find something... when he'd been planning the bus crash and his revenge against Woody Goodman, the FBI getting involved is something he had never considered._

"They are looking through all those photographs of my Dick!" she shrieked.

"This isn't helping" Cassidy hissed, trying to get her to stop causing a scene as he fought to keep from passing out. The erratic thud of his heart was threatening to bulldoze its way out of his chest when they began looking into his notebooks, hopefully they would think him irrelevant enough they wouldn't go through his computer history. He had used Tad Gleason's account details to cover his tracks, but he wasn't sure how easily you could track a persons digital fingerprints.

"It's their fault my Dick is out there all alone with that… street urchin" Madison protested, her blue eyes narrowing angrily on him. It was amusing as all Hell that she thought she was formidable in anyway… girls like Madison had ONE marketable quality, and she was quickly reaching her sell by date. "They will do anything to get my Dick. They don't know how great my Dick is… my Dick will show them… just you watch."

"And we all know you Love Dick" Cassidy deadpanned.

"I do love Dick… no one loves Dick like I do… That's MY DICK and if that little girlfriend of yours thinks she can just take my Dick. She's going to learn that you don't just play with my Dick." Madison swore. Cassidy rubbed the back of his neck and let out a long, low sigh as Madison noticed someone from the faculty office down the hallway, and stormed off ranting something about them hearing from her father's lawyer.

The only reason he had stuck around her so far, was that it meant he didn't have to spend his day with someone from social services, he should really think about contacting his families lawyer or his mother unless he wanted to end up in foster care for the night, especially now that Kendall Casablancas had been arrested by the FBI for 'plotting to murder her stepsons'. Hell even that was a lucky angle **he** hadn't seen coming, he had thought to pin the crimes on Logan eventually if he was caught, no harm there since the world already thought he was a killer.

Cassidy still wasn't entirely sure of the story about him and Lily, he'd always had his doubts but he promised Dick he would keep his mouth shut, until he hadn't. Veronica was missing too, and the school was buzzing about reports of her disappearance, and her father was MIA. Then there were the murders of those people at Van Lowe's office… Weevil had kidnapped Duncan?

He just hoped that in all the chaos… no one would connect any of the dots back to him.

Weevil Navarro slouched back in the familiar interrogation room; his shoulder throbbed from when the Deputies had stormed the hospital room once he'd disconnected that call from Veronica. Of course, Duncan Kane had been free to go. His family's head of security Clarence Weidman and Celeste Kane had collected him swearing that Weevil would never see the light of day again. He didn't even want to think what all of this drama was doing to his grandmother. He'd broken his promise… the one he'd given her that he'd stay straight and graduate high school after all her hard work if she made those sacrifices after his mother had overdosed leaving her alone to raise him, his cousin Chardo and is sisters so they didn't end up in foster care.

He just kept losing no matter what path he chose. He just hoped it was all worth it, his stomach rolled at the memory of Veronica's lonely sobs over that phone pleading with them to get her home. Sheriff Lamb was getting what he wanted, to slam the door on his cell once and for all. Even if Duncan didn't press charges… he had discharged a weapon and assaulted a deputy. No matter what the circumstances… There was a price for that. A costly one.

Maybe part of him was a little in love with the Petite sleuth, but he knew she was on the up and up… she could break out of the underbelly of Neptune… He had grown up with his eyes constantly searching for the Devil, in this danger of gang wars and possible stabbings. All the chaotic anger that came from having the odds stacked against him.

Veronica had been pulled into this World like a misplaced Angel after Lily's murder… and he'd suffer any cost to save her from this Hell. The closest a girl like that should have been to adrenaline fuelled trouble should be on a board, trying to catch the perfect waves or from taking too much sun on that golden skin. The thought of the peril she was in, made his stomach roll. It was just engrained in Weevil to protect women.. what was the point of being a man, and being strong unless it counted for something. Yeah he was a street thug, a motorcycle gang leader, but he considered himself to have a code… honor. Just because he didn't have a choice in his path, didn't mean he had to become a complete monster. Somethings he did have the power to control… and no matter what Sheriff Lamb snarled at him, he would always know he was a better man than him.

"You really expect us to buy this whole night was just you pulling some Good Samaritan routine?" Deputy White sneered, as he stood in the corner, arms folded over his chest.

Weevil rolled his eyes and just glared at him, saying nothing. He'd resigned himself to this, he knew what was coming when he'd surrendered himself. Elec was in a holding cell someplace in the precinct. Frankie Hernandez was ripping up the streets, and he could be having his face to face with Thumper, for killing Felix, as Agent Simmons had suggested. He didn't know if Mac and Dick were still safe, he'd lost his eyes on the main part of the action after he'd given himself up, he hadn't heard from Daisy and he still had no idea where Keith Mars was, or exactly what had went down with Veronica… he just knew he really needed some sleep, or an Advil for the headaches all the possible outcomes were weaving in his head. He'd been wrong about Echolls... and the guy was fighting for his life in a hospital bed.

"I've known a thousand guys like you… you all end up in the same place… and if you think I'll forget about what tonight.. think again.. my brother works up in San Quintin. I can get to you" he growled, yanking Weevils restraints forwards, causing him to have to sit up straight.

"Careful Deputy… that mascara is going to run…." Weevil smirked. Part of his stalling for time distraction had included making Deputy White dress in a burlesque outfit, full makeup and everything. The FBI had insisted, and he'd been able to settle an old score against the Deputy who had relished trashing his little sisters jewellery box last year when they'd raided the house for evidence of Echolls stolen credit card. The Deputy reached forwards and gripped the handcuffs keeping Weevil in place and clamped them tighter on his wrists.

"Got anything else smart to say? Beaner" White spat, forcing the cuffs tighter until they almost cut into his flesh.

"Yeah…. LAWYER" Weevil ground out, his brown eyes pinned on the red-faced Deputy.

"I wouldn't get too cocky Eli… I hear the feds are going to charge you under the Patriot Act… they aren't quite sure which suspected terrorist charges to file you under… you could be enjoying our company for a while" Sheriff Lamb smiled as he sauntered into the interrogation room. "After those Feds go out and have a little search for that streetwalking girlfriend of yours."

"Lucky me" Weevil retorted. _Just get Veronica home you useless prick..._


End file.
